CEC offers boycott supporters to campaign at home

Yarmoshyna says only parliamentary candidates can hold pickets.

This conclusion can be drawn from a reply of the Central Election Commission (CEC) to activists of the organizing committee to create Belarusian Christian Democracy party (BCD).

As Dzyanis Sadouski, the executive secretary of the BCD organizing committee, told BelaPAN news agency, activists applied to the CEC asking to explain the order of campaigning for “election” boycott.

Sadouski and co-head of the organizing committee Vital Rymasheuski asked CEC chairperson Lidzia Yarmoshyna to explain if boycott supporters can carry out pickets calling to boycott the election on  the signature collecting stage and during the election campaign and if they can organize sanctioned meetings with voters in the places chosen by local authorities and call for boycotting.

“We received an answer from the CEC signed by Lidzia Yarmoshyna. The letter says calling for election boycott is permitted, but Yarmoshyna says only candidates or their agents can apply for pickets. One can apply for 'boycott' pickets in accordance with the law on mass events,” Sadouski said.

“As for meetings organized by voters, they can apply to their constituency commissions for giving them premises to hold a meeting,” the CEC answer reads.

“As it follows from the reply, spreading materials about the election boycott via media is not permitted by the Electoral Code, but such materials can be published as advertisements. Activity of the law-enforcement agencies, which often detain boycott supporters, cannot be controlled by the CEC. The CEC controls only producing agitation materials of candidates, but cannot control printing of materials related to boycotting,” Sadouski said.

“Legally, boycotting is allowed, but you can campaign for the boycott only in your own flat. Judging by the CEC reply, holding pickets for election boycotting is regulated by the law on mass events and the Code of Administrative Offences,” Sadouski comments on the situation.

He says the campaign for the “election” boycott will be continued.

“We have a loophole. We can call for boycotting at the pickets of candidates, who plan to withdraw from the 'election'. We have already arranged with some of them on holding joint pickets. We'll see how the authorities will react to this idea,” Sadouski said.