Biggest election scandal: three versions

Dzyanis Krauchuk managed to vote at three different polling stations in Minsk, having triggered the biggest scandal of the local election campaign. Even Central Election Commission chairperson Lidziya Yarmoshyna had to comment.

The young man put a special mark ‘000-179’ on a page of his passport. He learnt about it on Telegram: a young woman claimed that she had managed to vote four times thanks to the mark. The administration of Minsk school No 179 where she works put it in her passport. 

What is in the video?

Dzyanis Krauchuk voted at the polling stations N64, 68 and 73 in Kuncauscyna constituency. He recorded a video of the voting. The young man first headed for the polling station No 68 located on the premises of grammar school No 4. The video depicts him entering the building. Since he had to put the phone in his pocket, nothing else could be seen. We can hear Krauchuk asking about the date and the place to put his signature in. He took out the phone in the polling booth and recorded ticking two candidates at a time. Then he went out and asked for one more ballot paper since he had spoilt the first one.

Then he went to the polling station No 64. The video is almost the same but Krauchuk did not spoil the ballot paper. He wrote “Stop election rigging” on it and inserted it into the ballot box.

The last polling station (No71) was located at school No 201. The video is almost the same but for the ending. Having cast his ballot, Krauchyk asked the election commission why he had been allowed to vote despite being registered in another place. The committee members apologized to the young man and said that they would add him on an additional list. 

Dzyanis Krauchuk’s version

Dzyanis Krauchuk: I came and gave them my passport without saying anything. They told me where to put my signature and date. I put my signature opposite some other person’s name.

Euroradio: Why weren’t you added on an additional list?

Kauchuk: I do not know. I was supposed to be a carousel voter.

He voted at polling stations No64 and 68 in the same manner, Dzyanis said. He only asked the commission members why he had been allowed to vote without having Minsk registration at the polling station No73.

Krauchuk: “They told me that they would add me on an additional list and that it was a mistake. People made a mistake – they did not pay attention to my registration.”
 

What did Yarmoshyna say?

"He showed a rent contract in one place and told a tearful story about a student who had lost his documents in the other place. The teachers who worked in the committee were touched and allowed him to vote,” BELTA quotes Lidziya Yarmoshyna as saying

The incident indicates that election committee members are bad at resisting cunning, the CEC chairperson said.

Election committees’ version

Polling station No 68, grammar school No 4.

“There were no incidents here, we will not comment on it.”

Polling station No 64, school No 185

It immediately becomes clear that they are aware of the issue. They have already sent an explanation to Frunze District Election Committee in connection with it. The young man’s name is on an additional list now. The committee where Krauchyk had the right to vote has been informed about him voting in Minsk, the committee member assured.  

“He was stuck in the polling booth and we thought that he felt bad. As far as I understand, he was taking some video inside and writing something in the ballot paper. When we asked him if he was okay, he ran away.”

Polling station No73, school No 201

Krauchyk told the committee that he had come to Minsk on business and could not vote at home. “He showed us his passport and his name was put on an additional list of voters."

They also sent a fax reporting that Dzyanis Krauchuk had voted at their polling station to Narach polling station No 11.

Interestingly, our interlocutor said that Krauchuk had shown his passport rather than the document proving that he was in Minsk on business.

Euroradio: What do the digits written in his passport in pencil mean?

“I do not know, It must be his whim.”

Narach polling station No11, Myadzel District

We phoned the polling station where Krauchuk had the right to vote. Dzyanis Krauchuk is registered there but his name has already been removed from the list, the committee members said. “He has voted in Minsk, we have received a photocopy.”

We asked what polling station had sent a request to remove Dzynis Krauchuk form the list of voters. Our interlocutor mentioned… two polling stations – No 73 and No 68.

Euroradio: No73 and 68? Why did he vote at two polling stations? Didn’t it confuse you?

Interlocutor: I do not know, why are you asking me about it?

We have learnt three versions of Dzynis Krauchuk’s voting. Yarmoshyna mentioned only two cases although the young man had voted thrree times. It is still not clear where Dzyanis put his signature at the polling station No 73 because he was added on the additional list of voters after voting. Furthermore, a Narach election committee is unaware of the fact that Dzyanis voted in Minsk three times.