Forming territorial election commission kept secret from opposition in Belarus

The local authorities of the town of Maladzechna held a secret session to form election commissions.

Human rights activists Eduard Balanchuk and Ales Kaputski planned visit the session, but failed.

The Belarusian Helsinki Committee sent a letter to the Maladzechna district executive committee asking to invite Eduard Balanchuk to a session on election commission formation and gave his phone number. Having not received a reply, Eduard asked Ales Kaputski on Monday to go the district executive committee to clear up the situation.

“I came to the executive committee at half past four pm and tried to gain information about the time of the session. I went to offices of the officials who were to visit this event, didn’t find them. I saw outerwear in the receiving room and supposed the session might be held at the moment,” Ales Kaputski tells.

The suspicions came true the next morning, September 28, when Eduard Balanchuk came to the district executive committee. He was said commissions had been formed on Monday. He didn’t receive any information about their composition and was told to read the local newspaper “Molodechenskaya Gazeta”.

In the town of Byaroza (Brest region), people who wanted to enter election commission were told about a sitting on commission formation after it had been held.

Activists from Byaroza Tamara Shchapyotkina and Syarhei Rusetski received a written notice from the Byaroza district executive committee and Byaroza district council saying they can learn about a joint session to form the district election commission on the website of the Byaroza district executive committee. The message was received at 2 pm September 28, but the session was carried out at 8:30 am September 28.