Belarusian authorities break records in early voting

Early voting, which representatives of the EU called up to abandon, is still held in Belarus, and moreover, voters turn-out is higher than in previous years.

Voters turn-out to early voting can be even higher than before. In local elections in 2007 24.9% of voters took part in early voting, "Belarusskiye naviny" inform.

On the first day 3.6% of voters took part in the vote. Voters turn-out in two days was 8.7% of voters, 15% over the three days. At the previous local election in 2007 2.7% of voters took part in the vote on the first day of the early voting, 6.9% over the two days, and 12.4% over the three days.

An expert in the area of electoral legislation Syarhei Alfer is surprised by the high turn-out.

"I could have expected high turn-out in Minsk. It can be explained by administrative calculation. There are many alternative candidates in Minsk, so it is better for the authorities to have more people who participate in early polling," he said.

The expert does not believe that the main factor is discipline of citizens, who are hurrying to use their constitutional right. "Citizens would not come in such a quantity themselves. The regime had to use the administrative resource in full," he supposes.

On April 20 in the traditional annual address Alyaksandr Lukashenka in fact confirmed that elections in Belarus would be held according to the old scenario. And it does not envisages seats in local councils for oppositional deputies.

As said by Lukashenka, he is not going to lead such people by the hand to power, despite of the fact that "some Western politicians had been prompting him that".

Thusm forecasts of some political analysts that a certain number of the regime's opponents would be allowed to local councils, are put in doubt. By all appearances, the authorities are unlikely to use local elections as exhibitory ones for the West.

Syarhei Alfer, an expert, notes absense of progress in the practice of carrying out elections.

«С моей точки зрения, выборы не стали более прозрачными, — подчеркивает он. — Местные выборы проводятся в абсолютно том же духе, что и три года назад».

"To my mind, the election hasn't become more transparent," he underlines. "Local elections are held in absolutely the same vein as three years ago".