Babrujsk: overstatement of turnout registered at polling station №20
A journalist of the newspaper “Babrujski Kurjer Aleksandryna Hlaholeva told how over a hundred extra electors “voted early” at polling station No. 20.
Let us remind that on October 9 the journalist intended to be present at the polling station for several hours in order to make a report. At first she was prohibited to do so, after which she had to register at the polling station as an observer.
“I wanted to count the number of the voters who came to vote and then compare it with the number of the election commission. I spent some time at polling station No. 20, counting them, and the chair of the commission was dissatisfied with it. For two hours they were decided whether I could be registered as a journalist or as an observer. I had to leave the polling station for that time. That was the time when this unreal number appeared: 120 people allegedly voted during two hours – one person per minute! However, the commission members didn't take into account the fact, that despite my absence in the room where the polling station is situated, I was standing at its entrance and continued counting those who came in. I counted 45 people, from which one can well subtract several people, as not everyone comes to a polling station to vote – some people just come to ask questions. Moreover, I had to count people at the entrance of the building for some time, and these people could just be going to their offices. That's why I believe that no more than 25 people voted for the time of my absence at the polling station.
It's worth notion that by the time Aleksandryna Hlaholeva first came to the polling station, there had been working an observer of the campaign “Right to Elect” who counted 30 voters. The journalist was counting voters for the rest of the day, and counted only 71 more. However, the protocol of the early voting for October 9 indicates that votes were cast by over 200 electors that day.
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