Observers claim turnout exagerrated, spot carousel voting in Belarus election

10/10/2015 - 12:25

Назіральнікі: На выбарах прыпісваюць да 25% яўкі, ёсць "каруселі"

While early voting is underway in Belarus' presidential elections, independent observers claim the turnout has been exaggerated by 25 per cent. At some polling stations, up to 200 people who did not vote were added to the turnout, according to Zmicier Kaspiarovich, a member of the Minsk City Election Commission. He told reporters:

"For example, at the polling station No 25 in Minsk, I counted 109 signatures of those who cast their ballots. However, they report a total of 146 voters. At another polling station, the difference was up to 200 people."

Among other violations, observers point at massive coercion to vote early, unsealed polling venues and so called 'carousels' when the same voters cast ballots several times at different polling stations. Observers claim they recorded at least three facts of carousel voting. People were brought by a bus in an organized manner and then after voting taken to another polling station.

Mismatching data about voters' number cannot be verified

All in all, observers have filed over 900 complaints concerning how early voting is being carried out in Belarus. Independent observers were ousted from the polling stations not only by decisions of election commission but also due to complaints from other pro-government observers. Observers from the Right to Choose 2015 campaign also reported the facts of intimidation and threats, according to campaign coordinator Dzianis Sadouski.

Sadouski: "There are facts when observers were refused accreditation. 12 people were deprived of accreditation. Some had to refuse from acting as observers due to pressure from employers. Yesterday, one of our observers was fired."