Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections

Employees of the Bialyničy-based consumer cooperative have been ordered to collect signatures for the nomination of presidential contender Mikalai Ulakhovich, chairman of the Belarusian Patriotic Party, supreme ataman of the NGO "Belarusian Cossacks".

Mikalai Ulasevich, an activist of Anatol Liabedzka’s campaign team, has received electronic answers to his petitions to the Smarhoń territorial election commission and the district executive committee, which demanded equal conditions for media coverage of presidential candidates’ nomination activities.

Students of the Mahilioŭ-based Belarusian-Russian University have been forced to suspend their internship, after they were ordered to return to the city in order to sign in favor of Aliaksandr Lukashenka’s nomination, says monitor of one of the classes of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering.

The Minsk City Court heard yesterday a complaint against a fine imposed on presidential contender Yury Shulhan together with his associate Pavel Kanavalchyk after they were detained outside the building of the Central Election Commission on July 17.

As part of the campaign "Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections", lawyer Pavel Sapelka analyzes the issue of unjustified restriction of the right to participate in elections imposed on prisoners and people held in custody awaiting trial.

It turned out during the collection of signatures in a dormitory of the Transmaš enterprise where activist Aliaksei Paulouski was collecting signatures for Tatsiana Karatkevich, mahilyowspring.org reports.

Observation of the presidential elections of the Republic of Belarus is carried out by activists of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee and the Human Rights Center "Viasna" in the framework of the campaign "Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections".

Mikalai Ulasevich, a member of the nomination group of Anatol Liabedzka, has sent a letter to the Smarhoń district executive committee and the local government-run newspaper Svietly Šliach, asking to cover the nomination activities by the contender’s campaign team.

The websites of local government-owned newspapers in the Hrodna region have been actively covering the activities of the nomination group for the incumbent Aliaksandr Lukashenka. In particular, the website of the Astravieckaja Praŭda (a government-run newspaper in the district of Astraviec) has posted six publications in just two weeks.

Valiantsina Shchetnikava and Ales Shautsou were collecting signatures at Mahilioŭ’s Vilienski market in support of presidential contender Tatsiana Karatkevich. The picket was attended by Mrs. Karatkevich, who talked to local residents for nearly half an hour. However, after her departure, the problems started.

One of the closed polling station is located on the territory of a military unit in Brest, whereas the rest belong to hospitals, sanatoriums and other resort facilities.

The coordinator of the campaign "Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections" Uladzimir Labkovich appealed to the Central Election Commission and the Prosecutor's Office with a complaint about a violation of the laws of the Republic of Belarus.

1,070 polling stations have been established in Homieĺ region, including 43 polling stations, at which no early voting will be held. Two such polling stations were establushed on the basis of police departments and the units of the internal military forces.

Leanid Dubanosau was detained at about 8 p.m. on August 12, while collecting signatures at the entrance to a porch of house No. 29 in Pieršamajskaja Street.

Sluck representatives of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee state an extremely low activity of potential presidential candidates and their initiative groups. The local media and residents show little interest in the elections, too.