Opposition politicians complain about lack of equal campaigning conditions to OSCE representative :: Charter'97 :: News

Representatives of Aleksandr Milinkevich`s camp on Tuesday complained about the lack of equal campaigning conditions in the ongoing presidential race to Uta Zapf, head of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly`s Working Group on Belarus, who had arrived in Minsk on January 30.

Attending the meeting with the German MP were members of the Belarusian Party of Communists (BPC), United Civic Party and Belarusian Popular Front.

As Valery Ukhnalyov, secretary of the BPC Central Committee, told BelaPAN, the politicians briefed Ms. Zapf about the political situation in Belarus ahead of the March vote.

"We told her about instances of pressure on members of nomination groups in the ballot-access signature collection process, about the way territorial election commissions were formed, with nearly all representatives of pro-democracy parties and non-governmental organizations barred out. The same situation is now when precinct commissions are being formed," Mr. Ukhnalyov said.

The politicians also reportedly informed the OSCE representative about the government`s crackdown on independent media outlets.

According to Mr. Ukhnalyov, Ms. Zapf said that representatives of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly would take part in monitoring the election.