OSCE/ODIHR: Belarusian election campaign is hardly noticeable
The OSCE/ODIHR observation mission has published an intermediate report on the Belarusian election. The election campaign is hardly noticeable in our country, BelaPAN reports.
At the same time, some ex-presidential candidates are worried ‘about the process of the registration of candidates’, the document says.
The release of six political prisoners including Mikalai Statkevich is a positive step. However, ex-candidate Ales Mihalevich who returned from abroad on September 8 is still on remand in connection with his participation in the events of December 19, 2010.
The state mass media are dominating the Belarusian media space although some independent sources of information can be accessed online, the document notes.
Changes that affect mass media and the financing of campaigns were made to the Election Code in Belarus in 2102. However, none of the OSCE/ODIHR major recommendations made after the parliamentary elections have been taken into account.
Inaccurate rules of the creation of election committees and the process of signature verification are some of the drawbacks mentioned in the document. There are no security measures meant to be taken during the counting of votes and district election committees do not have to make the voting results public.
“The disproportional legal restriction of the main liberties” affects the atmosphere of the election campaign, the document says. Citizens and civil organizations’ rights are limited as regards the discussion of the election campaign at public meetings. The freedom of speech is limited by a number of articles on slander and insult. Appeals to boycott the election are also included there. The rights for the freedom of speech and free access to information guaranteed by the Constitution are being violated, the report resumes.
