Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections

Representatives of the political opposition and the campaign “Human Rights Defenders For Free Elections” have met today with Michael Georg Link, Director of the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), to discuss the overall situation in Belarus following the October 2015 presidential election.

Head of the PACE election observation mission Reha Denemeç has published a report about the presidential election held in Belarus on October 11, 2015.

“The Biaroza district executive committee sees no reason to provide the results of voting at each polling station,” says a response received by observers Siarhei Rusetski and Tamara Shchapiotkina.

Tamara Shchapiotkina, an observer from Biaroza, received yesterday a letter from the Central Election Commission sent in response to her complaint. The CEC chair Lidziya Yarmoshyna says that the observer knows “the position of the Central Election Commission on the matters raised in the complaint.” “It ensures the need of the observer to enjoy an exercisable right to observe the counting of votes.”

The District Court of Akciabrski, a town in Homieĺ region, has fined Alena Lutskovich, leader of the United Civil Party’s Young Democrats youth wing and an observer in this year’s presidential election, 2.7 mln rubles for staging a protest on October 30, when the activist displayed a poster saying “I have proofs that the election was rigged!”

The Baranavičy interdistrict department of the Investigative Committee and the city Department of Internal Affairs refused to consider a request by former member of the city territorial election commission Viktar Syrytsa, who complained about alleged electoral fraud during the tabulation of voting results at polling station No. 36.

Dzianis Turchaniak, an activist of the movement "For Freedom", has sent a complaint to the prosecutor of Brest against the Department of Internal Affairs of the city’s Maskoŭski district.

Ales Dzerhachou, an independent observer from the town of Smarhoń, Hrodna region, has received a reply to his appeal submitted to the Central Election Commission. The observer sent photocopies of documents, which proved the discrepancy between the official data announced by the CEC and figures published in the protocols of election commissions at a number of polling stations in Smarhoń district.

Ivan Bedka, an observer at polling station No. 10 in Slonim, Hrodna reigon, complained to the Central Election Commission, saying that the election commission members were mainly teachers of the school that hosted the polling station, with the head teacher being its chairman.

Babrujsk observers of the campaign "Right of Choice" have received first answers from the territorial election commission. The replies that came from the Pieršamajski district election commission are exactly the same, they differ only in the names of the claimants.

Liudmila Tserashonkava, a former employee of a Viciebsk-based sports school, says her dismissal was politically motivated.

On October 19, head of the Central Election Commission Lidziya Yarmoshyna spoke in TUT.BY studio. Among other things, she commented on a series of video footage recorded at various polling stations. One of the videos was posted on the website of the Human Rights Center "Viasna".

Following the election day procedures, Vital Huliak, an independent observer from the town of Vaŭkavysk, Hrodna region, has complained to the District Prosecutor's Office about alleged violations of electoral law, namely, violations of the procedure of vote counting at polling station No. 3.

More people have been formally charged with administrative offenses in connection with their involvement in a post-election protest held on October 11 in central Minsk.

Ihar Kiryn, an observer from the town of Hlusk, has received an answer from the Central Election Commission to his request asking to invalidate voting results at polling station No. 2.