BSATU students compelled to vote early

Students were allowed not to attend classes so they could vote.

The website charter97.org received this information from a student of Belarusian State Agrarian Technical University (BSATU).

“Nina Zhalabkevich, the vice dean responsible for educational activity, visited us during the morning classes on September 18. She forced students to go to vote early and cast ballot 'for any candidate'. She noted students should vote on a compulsory basis, otherwise 'we cannot be friends'. We were allowed not to attend classes to vote. By the way, Nina Zhalabkevich is the head of Belaya Rus branch at our faculty,” a BSATU student says.

“A residential counselor in the residence hall asked us who would stay there for this weekend and said us to vote. He also advised the students, who were going home for this weekend, to vote early and made some notes in a notebook,” the young man says.

Belarusian students are traditionally forced to vote early en masse. Students of Belarusian National Technical University were promised an additional day off for early voting. At Belarusian State Medical University, whole groups of students are taken from classed to polling stations.