'Criminal record' keeps opposition activists out of election commission

Already at the stage of local election commission formation, the opposition tried to "discredit the electoral process" and suggested that people with a criminal record join the commissions. In Hrodna, such "criminals" were successfully detected, and not included in the regional commissions. This is how the CEC secretary Mikalai Lazavik, speaking on television, explained the reasons for refusal to include "opposition" in the Hrodna regional election commission.

                                      Mikalai Lazavik

Euroradio decided to find out what the convictions of the three opposition activists from Hrodna mentioned by Mr Lazavik are. It turns out that it was a representative of the left Fair World party Pavel Staneusky, a spokeswoman for the United Civil Party Alyaksandra Vasilievich and Mr. Katlyarchuk of the Liberal Democratic Party who tried to get into the local regional commision. What kind of "black spots" were in their biographies?

Pavel Staneusky smiled and said that, like every other opposition activist in Belarus, he had been fined and taken tot he police station.

"Two years ago I spent 8 days in Valadarka prison. We had a meeting in Minsk, in Shchukin's apartment - the police surrounded us there and questioned all of us, I refused to be questioned, as I have the right to do it. But it angered policemen and I was accused of attacking the policemen and swearing at him. Although I did nothing of the kind, I got 8 days in prison."

Of course, Pavel Stanevsky was sent to the jail by the court, and it means - he was tried. The Euroradio interviewee totally disagrees with the fact that from the legal point of view he now has a "criminal record": "All the convictions that I had exhausted its statute of limitations, and legally I am an ordinary citizen."

Moreover, today, Pavel Stanevsky is a Chairman of the "Center for Economic Strategies". He is engaged in attracting foreign investments in Belarus. But this is not the same as being a member of the election commission, right? "By and large, I could sue Lazavik for libel!" Pavel sums up his attempt to contribute to "the electoral process".

While the representative of the Fair World decides not to look for justice in court, a member of the United Civil Party Alyaksandra Vasilevich is not so tolerant. "I have filed a complaint against Mr Lazavik and sent it to the Central Election Commission, although it looks pretty funny - I am complaining to Ms Yarmoshyna about her subordinate!" immediately acknowledges Alyaksandra.

"I was in two trials: about Svislach and local elections - we were then detained for unauthorized mass event. But it is no reason to say that there is a conviction. After a while, the criminal record is lifted, and it does not even appear in the personal file. And what it is wrong of the Commission to pick holes in the person's past," said Alyaksandra.

She then added: "If we follow the logic of Lazavik, fare dodging or crossing the street in the wrong place could be the reason for non-inclusion in the commission - this is also an administrative offense!"

Only the representative of LDPB was a real criminal in the past, said the head of Hrodna branch of the party Alyaksei Talstoy. According to him, Mr. Kotlyarchuk did bad things... 35 years ago. Broke someone's jaw when he was young.

Alyaksei Talstoy: "It was not really a serious criminal case. I think it was in 1979 - I got into a fight and got a few years... because I broke somebody's jaw. That's all! It was all lifted, settled a long time ago!"

However, in the case of Mr Katlyarchuk, it was interesting in the way that he was not formally included in the Commission not due to the "criminal record", but for the fact that he did not come to a special meeting of the Executive Committee when they "elected" chairman of the regional election commission. The rules say, if you do not come to this first meeting, you will automatically drop off from the applicants for the "post" of the commission member.

According to an expert in electoral law Syarhei Alfer, not a single document stipulates criteria that a member of the Commission must comply with.

"And only later, when they did not include into the commissions someone of those who was nominated, they find at least some grounds to say that they found the best ones. Are others better? And from whose point of view are they better?"

                                                 Syarhei  Alfer

"People need to trust the members of election commissions, but how could they trust the people with a criminal record?" argues Mikalai Lazavik. But Syarhei  Alfer is sure: first of all it is about the credibility of the commission members in the eyes of the local authorities rather than ordinary voters. He gives advice on how to lift the charges off the opponents of power: mark in the electoral law a need to include in the commission of representatives all participants of the electoral process.

Also: only those who have committed a criminal offense could be said to have a conviction. Those who used "obscene language in a public place", "participated in an unauthorized mass event" and "did not obey the lawful demands of a police officer," have no criminal record. Even if they were fined or put in jail for a night.

Photo: Zmitser Lukashuk, Video: ONT