Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections

Alena Shabunia, observer at polling station No. 68 in the Pieramajski district of Viciebsk, photographed the ballot boxes for early voting in the evening of October 10 and in the morning of October 11.

After the spontaneous rally and procession on October 11 the police detained not only five activists of the anarchist movement who spent the night in the detention center in Akrestsin Street, but also the participants of an art performance, Yury Ursa and Yauhen Amelkau.

The assembly and procession of October 11, 2015 in Minsk was peaceful. The absence of an application for holding mass actions, required by law, is not a reason to limit the freedom of peaceful assembly. We should also mention the spontaneous character of the action and the inability to identify the organizers.

The independent observer at polling station No. 24 in Salihorsk Viktar Malochka appealed to the Salihorsk District Prosecutor's Office regarding the considerable overstatement of turnout of voters on the election day in the protocol of the PEC.

Observer Valery Putsitski reported about peculiarities of voting at polling station No. 20 in Rečyca.

The observers Ryhor Hryk and Tamara Strelchyk filed the third appeal to the Baranavičy Inter-district Prosecutor's Office and the Brest Regional Prosecutor's Office and the Central Election Commission regarding the facts of forgery of electoral documents at polling station No. 20.

As learned by the HRC "Viasna", the five activists of the anarchist movement who were detained during the spontaneous protest event in central Minsk yesterday's evening, spent the night at the detention center in Akrestsin Street in Minsk.

At about 8 p.m., five activists of the anarchist movement were detained not far from Niezaliežnasci Square in Minsk.

After the end of the vote counting at polling station No. 57 in Barysaŭ the members of the PEC refused to inform the observers about the results. As reported by an independent observer Pavel Daineka, nobody was let out of the polling station, while the chair of the commission was phoning either to the executive committee or a higher election commission to report about the results of the calculation.

As stated by the observer of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee at the Hlusk District Election Commission, Ihar Kiryn, he managed to see the commission only at the end of the receipt of documents from PECs as he was busy observing the vote counting at polling station No. 2. Together with him, the receipt of documents from the PEC was monitored by observers of the OSCE.

The regional coordinator of the campaign “Right to Elect” Taisiya Kabanchuk continues collecting and analysing information from observers. However, she is already able to state a large overestimation of the turnout at virtually all polling stations.

Observer Ales Yauseyenka observed the voting on the election day at polling station No. 25 in the Saviecki district of Homieĺ.

Correspondent of the Polish Internet-edition Eastbook.eu provided human rights activists with a video where it can be seen how members of precinct election commission No. 6 of the Pieršamajski district prevented her from taking video during the calculation of votes. The chair of the commission, Natallia Kunouskaya, threatened the journalist with the police.

The police detained a youngster with a white-red-white flag after the end of the spontaneous protest action near the Red Church in Minsk (Niezaliežnasci Square).

Chair of Davatarski PEC No. 3 Cheslau Baklazhats couldn't restrain himself after observer Vital Huliak hand him his complaint in which he registered the non-transparency of the calculation of votes.