New reports: How ballot papers replaced in Minsk polling stations

Following police lieutenant colonel Mikalai Kazlou, observers tell about fraud in the election.

An article in “Narodnaya Volya” about election fraud during the early voting in the parliamentary election in 2008, with testimonial of a police lieutenant colonel Kazlou, a continuation followed. An observer from the United Civil Party Alyaksei Bryuno has also decided to tell how voting and vote count were taking place in the polling station #463 of Staravilenski electoral district #105 in Minsk.

- I was an observer from the UCP in the polling station #463, – Alyaksei told to “Narodnaya Volya”. – I can confirm that Kazlou was on duty there on the last day of the early vote. Why have I imprinted him in my memory? I was surprised: well, a lieutenant colonel was guarding a ballot box!

When the ballot box for early voting was opened, after classifying ballot papers it was obvious that about 95% of votes of the people who had taken part in the early polling, were in favour of the chairman of the court of Central district of Minsk Mikalai Samasejka.

As for the results of the vote on the ballot day, September 28, the situation was completely different then. Judging by the stacks of the ballot papers, Samasejka and Lyabedzka had approximately the same number of votes. I cannot say more exactly, surely, as during the vote counting two policemen were pushing me back from the table where two members of the election commission, standing with their backs turned towards us, observers, were sorting the ballots. Policemen were acting on the order of the deputy chairman of the commission, Alyaksei Pyatnitsa. And the chairperson of the commission, Alyautsina Hladkaya, acted out a goalkeeper, jumping in front of me, heroically shielding the table with ballot papers with her chest.

Nevertheless, I saw the stacks placed in front of the three members of the commission (one of them was Volha Bryshteleva). The stack of ballots for Lyabedzka was twice, or even more, as big as the stack in favour of Samasejka. Members of the commission were talking to each other only in whisper and by sending paper notes. And after 5 minutes of whispering, two stacks of ballot papers for Lyabedzka and Samasejka, almost equal in their height, emerged.

The story with ballot boxes which for home voting was even more mysterious, not saying absurd. According to the information of the commission and observers, 40 persons voted at home, but Samasejka “managed to get” 47 votes. It should be noted that in violation of the Electoral Code, there was no separate vote counting in this polling station for ballot boxes for early, home voting and voting on the election day. Their results were not announced. To my demands to respect the law and to announce the number of votes in home voting, early voting and on he election day separately, the chairperson of the commission Alyautsina Hladakaya answered that everything would be reflected in the final protocol. It was a lie! Only general figures were written down to the protocol.

The story of Mikalai Kazlou and my personal observations confirm the fact that ballot papers had been swapped in the ballot box for early voting. Another, traditional violation of the electoral code: members of the election commission were representatives of the education system only, and almost all of them belonged to one collective of teachers. The commission was headed by the head of the preschool and secondary education of the administration of Central district A. Hladkaya, her assistants are a schoolmaster of the school #188 A. Pyatnitsa, members of the commission – teachers of the school…

I drew up a statement about violations during the election based upon the results of observation, and forwarded it to the chairperson of the commission. But no one took any measures. Does it mean that everything will repeat now, during the presidential election?

By the way

Alyautsina Hladkaya and Alyaksei Pyatnitsa will count votes in the upcoming presidential election

They have been put on the precinct election commission 324, which is to be seated in the secondary school #188 of Minsk. It is curious that Alyautsina Hladkaya was nominated to the commission as a member of the district branch of the Belarusian Red Cross society, and Alyaksei Pyatnitsa was sent by Belaya Rus organization. However, Alyaksei Pyatnitsa still remains the schoolmaster of the secondary school #188 of Minsk, and Alyautsina Hladkaya works as a head teacher for studies in the grammar school #3 in Minsk.