Yarmoshyna forbids printing leaflets in foreign printing houses
The statement surprised opposition leaders because it had always been like that. At the same time, they informed the head of the Central Election Commission that Belarusian printing houses refused to print their leaflets.
Belarusian politicians’ new year started with a warning pronounced by the head of the Central Election Commission Lidziya Yarmoshyna. According to her, candidates running for deputies during the parliamentary election in 2008 will have to be more careful in comparison with previous elections and should avoid using foreign moneyed assistance. Such facts will become a reason for cancellation of a candidate’s registration.
The secretary of the Central Election Commission Mikalai Lazavik explained the uncomplying attitude of the head of the CEC for ERB.
Mіkalai Lazavіk: “Elections are an internal matter, so the money used for it should not be provided by foreign sponsors imposing their own government with the help of it. It should be the money of citizens of the country the elections are taking place in”.
CEC officials think that the main evidence of usage of “illegal” money is the fact that election leaflets are printed abroad. According to the secretary of the commission, election commissions will not pay for services of foreign printing houses. If such leaflets appear it will prove that they were paid for by sponsors.
Mіkalai Lazavіk: “The election committee will pay only if it is the account of a Belarusian enterprise. If there are foreign printed editions it will mean that they were produced with the help of “illegal” money that were not allocated by the election commission. Using such money is forbidden by the law”.
Moreover, the secretary thinks that it would be unscrupulous to give money to foreign workers. It is necessary to give local printing houses an opportunity to make some money. In their turn, they will pay some of it to the budget in the form of taxes. He said that the information about local printing houses refusing to print leaflets of opposition candidates was nonsense.
Mіkalai Lazavіk: “We do not even use the term opposition during elections. All candidates are entities of the election process to us. Candidates or contenders. The word “opposition”, be it widely used, is not acceptable during elections. We treat everyone equal. And we demand the same attitude to candidates from state and independent institutions providing services or any kind of assistance to them during the election campaign”.
The head of the UCP Anatol Lyabedzka found nothing new in the words of the head of the CEC. Recalling the words of a former head of KGB Suharenka who said that the success of the previous election was guaranteed by them and not by the Central Election Commission, he advised Yarmoshyna to monitor directors of printing houses so that they would obey laws. He promised that they would find a way to address electors in any case.
Anatol Lyabedzka: “The majority of Minsk democratic candidates were not able to print their leaflets in Belarus. The most important thing for us is to reach electors. It does not matter how we will do it – printing them underground, making them hand-written or printing them on PCs. But we will not fill the niche left to us by the Central Election Commission, KGB and other structures”.
The statement of the head of the Central Election commission surprised the leader of the Belarusian Communist Party Syarhei Kalyakin. It did not frighten him. According to him, it was not clear why she started speaking about the usage of foreign money. The Central Election Commission should have been monitoring the issue all the time. He advised them to think how to punish officials refusing opposition candidates the right to print leaflets in Belarusian printing houses.
Syarhei Kalyakіn: “Yarmoshyna should imprison heads of state printing houses. She should better tell us how she is going to act upon officials violating the Constitution and the Belarusian legislation. And it keeps happening during elections”.
The deputy head of the BSDP (Hramada) Anatol Lyaukovich also told ERB about the impossibility to print leaflets of opposition candidates in Belarus. He said that the initiative of the Central Election Commission was an attempt to prevent them from reaching electors.
Anatol Lyaukovіch: “It is a preventive measure. Like, do not think you will reach electors. There is nothing else to expect from the authorities and the statement is natural and understandable. We have no elections and no polls. The authorities are not only trying to count all opposition candidates, they also need to prevent alternative candidates from reaching people”.
The head of BNF Lyavon Barshcheuski assured ERB that democratic deputies would not suffer from such a close attention paid to the source of the financing of their election campaigns.
Lyavon Barshcheuskі: “I do not think that democratic candidates will suffer from it. Because it will not be the Central Election Commission but the President’s Administration that will decide on those who will be registered as candidates. The reasons for refusals will be searched especially for that and they will not need any proof”.
According to the head of BNF, Yarmoshyna’s statement testifies to the regime’s fear of virtual candidates.
ERB’s note
The Central Election committee allocates about 700 dollars to a candidate for the position of a deputy of the House of Representatives during an election campaign. Thus, every elector out of 80 thousands registered in every constituency pays about 10 cents.
Belarusian politicians’ new year started with a warning pronounced by the head of the Central Election Commission Lidziya Yarmoshyna. According to her, candidates running for deputies during the parliamentary election in 2008 will have to be more careful in comparison with previous elections and should avoid using foreign moneyed assistance. Such facts will become a reason for cancellation of a candidate’s registration.
The secretary of the Central Election Commission Mikalai Lazavik explained the uncomplying attitude of the head of the CEC for ERB.
Mіkalai Lazavіk: “Elections are an internal matter, so the money used for it should not be provided by foreign sponsors imposing their own government with the help of it. It should be the money of citizens of the country the elections are taking place in”.
CEC officials think that the main evidence of usage of “illegal” money is the fact that election leaflets are printed abroad. According to the secretary of the commission, election commissions will not pay for services of foreign printing houses. If such leaflets appear it will prove that they were paid for by sponsors.
Mіkalai Lazavіk: “The election committee will pay only if it is the account of a Belarusian enterprise. If there are foreign printed editions it will mean that they were produced with the help of “illegal” money that were not allocated by the election commission. Using such money is forbidden by the law”.
Moreover, the secretary thinks that it would be unscrupulous to give money to foreign workers. It is necessary to give local printing houses an opportunity to make some money. In their turn, they will pay some of it to the budget in the form of taxes. He said that the information about local printing houses refusing to print leaflets of opposition candidates was nonsense.
Mіkalai Lazavіk: “We do not even use the term opposition during elections. All candidates are entities of the election process to us. Candidates or contenders. The word “opposition”, be it widely used, is not acceptable during elections. We treat everyone equal. And we demand the same attitude to candidates from state and independent institutions providing services or any kind of assistance to them during the election campaign”.
The head of the UCP Anatol Lyabedzka found nothing new in the words of the head of the CEC. Recalling the words of a former head of KGB Suharenka who said that the success of the previous election was guaranteed by them and not by the Central Election Commission, he advised Yarmoshyna to monitor directors of printing houses so that they would obey laws. He promised that they would find a way to address electors in any case.
Anatol Lyabedzka: “The majority of Minsk democratic candidates were not able to print their leaflets in Belarus. The most important thing for us is to reach electors. It does not matter how we will do it – printing them underground, making them hand-written or printing them on PCs. But we will not fill the niche left to us by the Central Election Commission, KGB and other structures”.
The statement of the head of the Central Election commission surprised the leader of the Belarusian Communist Party Syarhei Kalyakin. It did not frighten him. According to him, it was not clear why she started speaking about the usage of foreign money. The Central Election Commission should have been monitoring the issue all the time. He advised them to think how to punish officials refusing opposition candidates the right to print leaflets in Belarusian printing houses.
Syarhei Kalyakіn: “Yarmoshyna should imprison heads of state printing houses. She should better tell us how she is going to act upon officials violating the Constitution and the Belarusian legislation. And it keeps happening during elections”.
The deputy head of the BSDP (Hramada) Anatol Lyaukovich also told ERB about the impossibility to print leaflets of opposition candidates in Belarus. He said that the initiative of the Central Election Commission was an attempt to prevent them from reaching electors.
Anatol Lyaukovіch: “It is a preventive measure. Like, do not think you will reach electors. There is nothing else to expect from the authorities and the statement is natural and understandable. We have no elections and no polls. The authorities are not only trying to count all opposition candidates, they also need to prevent alternative candidates from reaching people”.
The head of BNF Lyavon Barshcheuski assured ERB that democratic deputies would not suffer from such a close attention paid to the source of the financing of their election campaigns.
Lyavon Barshcheuskі: “I do not think that democratic candidates will suffer from it. Because it will not be the Central Election Commission but the President’s Administration that will decide on those who will be registered as candidates. The reasons for refusals will be searched especially for that and they will not need any proof”.
According to the head of BNF, Yarmoshyna’s statement testifies to the regime’s fear of virtual candidates.
ERB’s note
The Central Election committee allocates about 700 dollars to a candidate for the position of a deputy of the House of Representatives during an election campaign. Thus, every elector out of 80 thousands registered in every constituency pays about 10 cents.
