Ten days before election day, there are, according to domestic election observers’ estimates, only up to 365 members of the opposition who are still continuing their election campaign, and fighting for one of the 21,303 council seats. In Gomel, more candidates from the coalition United Democratic Forces of Belarus are complaining about the unfair conditions of the election campaign, and are withdrawing their candidacies. Of at least 127 appeals which have been submitted throughout the country against the non-registration of candidates for council seats, only two have been successful. The initiative “Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections” is demanding legally prescribed criteria for the selection of competent candidates for the election commissions. It is also demanding more suitable training for the judges who are supposed to examine the appeals relating to the election.Up to 365 opposition candidates in the whole country continue their election campaign
According to estimates of the initiative “Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections”, currently only up to 365 of the 428 registered opposition candidates are continuing their election campaign, and fighting for one of the total 21,303 council seats. Numerous members of the opposition have already decided to boycott the elections. In total, the registered and unregistered opposition parties put forward 617 candidates, of whom 179 (29%) could not be registered. Ten candidates from the Belarusian Party of United Leftists ‘Just World’ and the movement “For Freedom” withdrew their candidacies during the registration process as a result of pressure from the state apparatus or from their work superiors (see table below).
Because the local structures of the parties which are critical of the regime often make decisions on the continued participation in the election campaign independently of their central offices in Minsk, the number of opposition candidates involved in the election campaign can continue to change up until election day. In addition, opposition groups are threatening a complete withdrawal of their candidates just before election day, should free campaigning be restricted by the state apparatus.
Election boycott in Gomel
The elections are to take place in ten days and the number of members of the opposition involved in the election campaign continues to fall. The situation is particularly tense in the south-eastern region around the city of Gomel, where the local structures of the Belarusian Party of United Leftists ‘Just World’ and the Party of the Belarusian National Front (PBNF) have decided to withdraw all their candidates from the elections. The parties claim that members of the opposition are subject to victimization by the local administration. Previously, the United Civil Party (OGP) had already announced its boycott of the elections in all six regions of the country (see report № 4). Only those representatives of the OGP who were registered via the collection of signatures are able to continue with their election campaign.
The domestic election observers in Gomel report that only 22 of the 211 candidates nominated by opposition parties for the local election commissions will in fact be working at the precincts. Therefore, the opposition sees little hope of being able to monitor the voting and counting processes. “All the political powers in our region are convinced that the results will be falsified”, comments Piotr Kuznyacou, an expert from the Belarusian Helsinki Committee in Gomel, on the decision to boycott the elections. “No one believes that the boycott can have any real effect on the outcome of the elections, because, given the current conditions, the result of the election is already known. The opposition is using the boycott more as a media event, in order to demonstrate its discontent to the voters”, says Kuznyacou.
The election campaign in Gomel is now being continued by the unregistered Belarusian Christian Democratic Party, the movement “For Freedom”, and the Belarusian Party “The Greens”. Some individual candidates belonging to the parties which are boycotting the elections are also continuing their election campaigns, so long as they were not registered via party lists, but by the method of collecting signatures.
Domestic election observers criticise the lack of expertise of the election administration and the courts
According to the figures of the opposition parties, at least 127 appeals were submitted against the rejection of candidates’ registration, of which only two have so far seen a positive outcome. The initiative “Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections” draws attention to the fact that many appeals were turned down unlawfully and criticises the lack of expertise of the members of the election commissions who have been examining the appeals. It is demanding that criteria for the selection of election commission candidates be set down in the electoral code. Earlier, the domestic election observers reported that candidates without the necessary expertise were often accepted onto the election commissions if they were loyal to the regime, whilst numerous experienced representatives of the opposition – politicians and legal experts – could not gain access to the precinct commissions (see report № 3).
Appeals rejected by the election commission at the local level will first be examined by the higher election commission and finally by the courts. During this process, there is a time limit of three days at each level for dealing with an appeal. “The electoral code does set out an appropriate procedure and deadlines for the examination of appeals”, says Uladzimir Labkovich, legal expert at the Human Rights Center Viasna. “However, the problem does not lie in the law, but in its implementation: the appeals are mostly rejected unlawfully or passed on to the wrong authority”, explains Labkovich.
Furthermore, when the local election commissions unlawfully reject a registration, the decision is often taken up by the higher election commission without being properly examined. Whilst this takes place, both the candidates and the domestic election observers are denied the opportunity to view the documentation concerning the decision-making process. “As long as there is no transparency in the examination of the documents submitted, one has to doubt the objectivity of the election commissions when rejecting candidates’ registrations”, comments Uladzimir Labkovich.
Concerning the upcoming presidential elections, the domestic election observers are already demanding an improvement in the preparation of the judges who are responsible for examining the appeals against infringements of the electoral code. “Today, many judges are insufficiently trained for handling appeals concerning the elections”, says Labkovich. “If an election commission’s unlawful decision has to then be submitted to the court, and then examined by an incompetent judge, then the whole appeal process is drawn out. Even when a positive decision is made, the appealing candidate still usually loses too much time, and is then unable to carry out an effective election campaign”, states Labkovich.
Overview of the candidacies from the opposition parties (Stand: 15th April)
|
Party |
Candidates put forward |
Withdrawal before registration |
Registered |
Registration rejected |
Appeals submitted |
Successful appeals |
Continuing the election campaign |
Candidates boycotting |
|
Belarusian Christian Democratic Party (BCHD) |
173 |
|
82 |
91 |
80 |
1 |
83 |
|
|
Belarusian Party of United Leftists ‘Just World’ |
147 |
7 |
111 |
29 |
14 |
0 |
80 |
31 |
|
United Civil Party (OGP) |
97 |
|
77 |
20 |
20 |
0 |
45 |
22 |
|
Movement „For Freedom“ |
83 |
3 |
63 |
17 |
11 |
0 |
63 |
|
|
Party of the Belarusian National Front (PBNF) |
72 |
|
62 |
10 |
|
|
|
|
|
Belarusian Social Democratic Party ‘Gramada’ (BSDPG) |
32 |
|
29 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
30 |
|
|
Belarusian Party of Greens |
11 |
|
2 |
9 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
|
|
Belarusian Social Democratic Gramada (BSDG) |
2 |
|
2 |
|
|
|
2 |
|
|
Total |
617 |
10 |
428 |
179 |
127 |
2 |
305* |
53 |
* In addition, up to 60 candidates from the Party of the Belarusian National Front are continuing their election campaign. The exact figure is not known.
____________
The previous editions of the newsletter can be found on the European Exchange website:
Report 1: Human Rights Defenders Start Monitoring the Local Elections
Report 2: Alterations to the Electoral Code
Report 3: Few Members of the Opposition in the Local Election Commissions in spite of the New Electoral Code
Report 4: Members of the Opposition Boycott the Elections