UCP Points Out Local Elections’ Undemocratic Nature :: Charter'97 :: News

The United Civil Party passed on February 27 a statement concerning the undemocratic nature of local elections. “Outcomes of candidates’ nomination and registration testify to the regime’s persistent aspirations to return back to the Soviet times and elections without alternative, when only one candidate was nominated in each voting constituency. In the countryside the authorities have already attained their goal and are also close to doing that in the towns,” – reads the UCP statement.

On undemocratic character of the local elections

Statement of the United Civil Party

The outcomes of candidates’ nomination and registration testify to the state’s persistent aspiration to return to the Soviet times and elections without alternative, when only one candidate was nominated in every electoral constituency. In the countryside the regime already reached that goal and is close to attaining it in the towns too…

In Minsk and regional centers the local executive via the obedient electoral commissions denied registration to over 50% runners for the deputies’ seats. In order to deal with the candidates from opposition the authorities used to their own good the undemocratic Belarusian electoral legislation…

Current electoral law doesn’t let the candidates carry out normal campaigning and familiarize the voters with their pre-election program. For instance, in Minsk a candidate into the deputy from 22thsd voters’ constituency, receives only $50 from the state to produce his election agitation placards. Meantime, he has no right to finance his election campaign out of alternative sources.

Many candidates from opposition parties already received reprimands for alleged violations of agitation campaign rules. Moreover, reprimands have been issued against them without their being invited to the concomitant sessions of the commissions. Biased attitude of electoral commissions towards “wrong” candidates shows that many of the remaining nominees may be suspended from the race within the period of time left ahead of the March 2 ballot.

Undemocratic nature of the electoral commissions’ formation, discrimination of representatives of opposition political parties during registration procedure, unequal conditions of pre-election agitation testify to the fact that at this stage the regime will not scruple to use any unfair means in order to get rid of the opposition candidates. This makes us assume that the local elections in Belarus aren’t free nor meet international electoral standards.