Ideologues work at election hotline in Belarus

Authorities in Babrujsk have opened a telephone hotline, which is to work from Monday till Friday.

As the website of the city executive committee informs, the hotline is to work “in connection to the upcoming elections”, and people “would be able to express their opinion on public issues of importance”, “Human Rights Activists for Free Elections” write.

Babrujsk human rights watchdogs tried to call each of the phone numbers. A man who had picked up the phone in the administration of Pershamajski district, was very surprised when he learnt that he works for a hotline. He told that it was the ideology department of the district, and asked where from the phone appeared, and where such information had been found.

A woman picked up the phone of the hotline of the city executive committee. She presented herself as an expert of the ideology department. She confirmed it was a phone of the hotline, and asked what the problem was. But she could not answer the question why Babrujsk voters are told at their enterprises that they have a right to give signatures for one candidate only. The ideologist has also stated that the hotline had been working for three days, and two persons had called them already.

Unfortunately, no one was available on the phone of Leninski district. But concerned citizens who will call there, are most likely to contact the ideology department as well.