Weekly report: early voting
Observation of the presidential election is carried out by the Belarusian Helsinki Committee and the Human Rights Center “Viasna” in the framework of the campaign “Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections”. SUMMARY the restrictions imposed by the CEC on the number of observers at polling stations during early voting made this electoral phase completely non-transparent […]
Belarus Election Alert #5
On August 9, 2020, presidential elections take place in Belarus, in which the incumbent Aleksander Lukashenka is standing for the sixth time. Early voting took place from August 4 to August 8. Election observers complain about criminal and administrative prosecution of opposition politicians and their supporters, pressure on voters to cast their votes ahead of […]
Weekly report: election campaigning
Observation of the presidential election is carried out by the Belarusian Helsinki Committee and the Human Rights Center “Viasna” in the framework of the campaign “Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections”. SUMMARY the phase of election campaigning differed significantly from the previous elections by the wide activity of the protest electorate both in Minsk and […]
Weekly Report – election campaigning
In their latest report Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections state that the election campaign took place in unequal conditions. By abandoning official campaigning, the incumbent made an extensive use of the administrative and propaganda resources of the power vertical, pro-government NGOs and the media. Moreover, the incentive measures taken on the initiative of the […]
Weekly Report – accreditation of observers and the start of early voting observation
On August 4, early voting in the presidential election was launched to continue until August 8. According to “Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections”, most pro-government observers were registered immediately after the formation of the PECs in June. As a result, only observers from pro-government organisations and political parties will observe the election, administered by […]
Television & Social Media Media Monitoring – Interim report
President Lukashenko has tried to play down the upcoming election as an unnecessary distraction from business, but an active social media movement has shown that the public is no longer prepared to go along with an alternate reality. Here you can read the findings of the interim report, produced by MEMO 98, EAST Center and […]
An analog campaign in a digital age: Lukashenka falters in the face of social media
Image source: Belta.by President Lukashenko has tried to play down the upcoming election as an unnecessary distraction from business as usual, but an active social media movement has shown the public is no longer prepared to go along with an alternate reality, according to a new report analysing media and social media in the build-up […]
“Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections” demand transparency in voting and vote count
Image source: spring96.org On July 22, the Central Election Commission adopted a resolution amending Resolution No. 15 of May 8, 2020 “On the approval of the Regulations on the procedure for delegating and the activities of observers in the preparation and conduct of the 2020 presidential election in the Republic of Belarus”. The amendments introduced restrictions on […]
Representatives of Belarus’ biggest independent media outlets urge authorities to end persecution of journalists
Photo credit: Vadzim Zamirouski, TUT.BY Belarusian Association of Journalists: Minsk, 21 July. As many as 213 representatives of Belarus’ biggest independent media outlets have urged the authorities to end the persecution of journalists. In their appeal, the journalists accuse the government of targeting media workers with tough repressive measures and note that 43 correspondents […]
Independent observers banished from polling stations
Image source: newskitchen.eu The Central Election Commission has limited the number of observers who will be allowed to monitor the process of voting at polling stations, citing coronavirus statistics as the cause for the controversial decision. At a meeting held today, CEC chairperson Lidziya Yarmoshyna proposed to reduce the number of observers to five at a […]