Police Try to Detain UCP Candidate’s Proxy

15.10.2004.

RFE/RL reports, today police officers tried to detain Ivan Kruk, proxy of UCP member Zinaida Bandarenka.
The incident occurred in Astravets region, where Mrs. Bandarenka is running. The ground for detention was the fact that Ivan Kruk was outraged having seen a sample of ballot paper filled out in support of the referendum in a polling-booth.
Zinaida Bandarenka and Ivan Kruk found violations in a number of polling stations. In polling station # 49 (Astravets) head of the precinct commission refused to provide information about the number of voters on the list and the number of voters who had already voted. In district # 68 (Mali village) they entered the polling-booth and found a sample of a ballot-paper filled out in support of Lukashenka. When Mr. Kruk removed the ballot-paper, a police officer tried to detain him. Mrs. Bandarenka did not let him do it. However, later the police tried to arrest Mr. Kruk at home.
According to Ivan Kruk, during the informal talk members of some election commissions told him, similar ballot samples were placed at every polling-booth of this district. In the majority of places they had been removed before the candidate visited those polling stations.
Zinaida Bandarenka comments the incident in the interview to RFE/RL: “I am shocked having seen and felt all of that. I have an impression that security forces control the whole election process in Belarus, this is terrifying”.
Zinaida Bandarenka and Ivan Kruk are preparing applications to CEC, prosecutor’s office, and OSCE about violation of the election law they have seen in Astravets region.