BHC representatives not allowed to observe formation of territorial commissions in Orša and Dubroŭna
Local executive officials refer to Article 34 of the Electoral Code, arguing that monitoring the process of creating territorial commissions is illegal.
Ihar Kazmiarchak, who was going to be present at a meeting of the executive committee and the presidium of the Dubroŭna District Council of Deputies, received a refusal while going the district center:
"Yesterday I received an oral agreement, and today - yet also orally, by telephone - a refusal. I received a phone call from the executive committee and told that I did not have the right to attend a meeting for the formation of the commission. My nomination as a representative of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee – a non-governmental organization that monitors the elections - has created the opposite effect. I did not get to the meeting. "
Vasil Berasneu, a representative of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee in Orša, was not allowed to attend a joint meeting of the District Executive Committee and the Presidium of the District Council of Deputies.
Similar refusals were received yesterday by Viciebsk human rights activists, representatives of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee, Pavel Levinau and Leanid Svetsik.
Human rights defenders stress that, when referring to the Electoral Code, local officials ignore the law of the Republic of Belarus "On local government and self-government”, which allows representatives of political parties, public organizations and even ordinary citizens to attend the meetings of executive and administrative authorities.
"Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections"