Central Electoral Commission Refuses to Improve Electoral Process

16.07.2004.

On 15 July the Central Electoral Commission refused to follow the proposals of the deputy U. Navasiad concerning improvement of the electoral process. In the refusal it is stated that these proposals excess the limits of the commission’s competency or are precisely described in the acting electoral legislation.

The head of the Human Rights Center “Viasna” Ales Bialiatski characterizes this decision of the electoral commission as biased and inconsequent:
-- The thing is that during the previous elections (of 2001 and 2003) the central commission often issued rulings that explained certain norms of the electoral legislation and, moreover, often exceeded the limits of the Electoral Code of the Republic of Belarus.

For instance, according the rulings of the Electoral campaigns, issued during previous election, all electoral meetings were to have been conducted in strict conformity with the Law “About mass measures”. Actually, this ruling limited the rights of candidates to deputy positions, though the Electoral Code didn’t contain such demands. There were also rulings that prohibited to political parties to issue means in support of party candidates, though the Electoral Code stated that “political parties, working collectives and citizens who nominate candidates to deputy positions have the right to produce pre-electoral posters, urges, statements, inscriptions, fly-sheets and photo materials”.

The instructions, adopted by the Central commission during previous electoral campaigns, were far from being perfect. They didn’t have precise information about saving of ballot boxes and papers. Navasiad’s inquiry was aimed at development of these very technical procedures. That’s why the unwillingness of the Commission to turn attention at evident drawbacks in legal regulation of the electoral process is a manifestation of the deliberate position of its members that is aimed at possible falsifications during the election.