Lukashenka’s words about ballot-rigging could entail impeachment

All manipulations with ballots are taking place at polling stations, not in district commissions.

It has been said by a deputy chairman of Viasna human rights centre, a lawyer Valyantsin Stefanovich.

- In the interview to Kseniya Sobchak Alyaksandr Lukashenka told about the mechanism of ballot-rigging. By what sanctions are punishable such actions?

- The point is, it is not the first time that Lukashenka speaks about rigging of election. Once he stated he ordered to show a reduced per cent of persons who voted for him. And principally, appeals on this issue had been filed to the Prosecutor General’s office with a demand to give a legal treatment to these facts, however the office had not found essential elements of an offence in it.

There are a number of articles in the Criminal Code of Belarus, they concern violations of the electoral legislation. But in this case we should bear in mind that these statements are made by the highest official, and “deputies” sitting in the “parliament” should scratch their heads and ask Lukashenka how it could be possible. I think than in a normal country deputies could put the question of impeachment for violations of the law to vote.

- The Belarusian ruler has stressed that all ballot-rigging took place in district commissions. Is it true to reality?

- No, they are not taking place in district commissions. When Sobchak asked what is to happen if surveillance cameras are installed in polling stations, he said nothing would change, as rigging could be made in other ways. It was said in such a context. And all ballot-rigging is taking place in polling stations, and not at the level of higher electoral commissions. Otherwise it would be very easy to spot them. For that one needs to take a selection of 15% of districts all over the country, where information from official protocols is recorded very quickly, immediately after the vote ended. It is counted, which makes it possible to have information about the results of the voting very quickly and to a precision of 2%.