Monitoring report on the formation of territorial election commissions
As in the previous local elections, one of the major obstacles to nominate representatives to the territorial election commissions (TECs) from political parties and public organizations is a rule endorsed by the Central Election Commission which only allows the nomination of candidates by the organizations’ local branches, provided they are registered at the regional, district […]
Local elections in Belarus: Report on Territorial Election Commissions
Photo: Bladyniec According to the report on the Territorial Election Commissions (TECs), one of the major obstacles to nominate representatives to the TECs from political parties and public organizations is a rule endorsed by the Central Election Commission which only allows the nomination of candidates by the organizations’ local branches, provided they are registered […]
Report on Belarus Parliamentary Elections
Belarusian authorities have not abandoned the repressive practices against their political opponents: peaceful protesters are still subjected to administrative liability, other civil and political rights are restricted, the country has new political prisoners. The Belarusian authorities have not made any measures aimed at systemic and qualitative changes in the field of human rights, especially at […]
Results of Independent Observation: Facts, Analysis, Comments
The report provides an analysis of all stages of the elections to the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus of the sixth convocation held on 11 September 2016. Despite the fact that the vote was accompanied by unfavorable trends in the social and economic spheres, the campaign took place […]
Raid in the Office of Belarusian EPDE Member HRC Viasna
On Saturday 25 March the Minsk office of the Belarusian EPDE-member organisation Human Rights Center Viasna was raided by the police. 57 human rights defenders, among them the Chairman of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee, Aleh Hulak, also a member of EPDE, were detained. The lawyer of the HRC Viasna was hospitalized after he was beaten […]
Priority recommendations on reforming the electoral legislation of Belarus
The civil campaign Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections has presented a policy paper on its recommendations aimed at reforming the electoral legislation of Belarus. According to the campaign’s experts, these recommendations are crucial for the conduct of free, fair and democratic elections. In 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2015, the Electoral Code was amended, […]
Parliamentary Elections 11 September 2016 in Belarus: OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission Final Report
The 11 September parliamentary elections were efficiently organized, but, despite some first steps by the authorities, a number of long-standing systemic shortcomings remain. The legal framework restricts political rights and fundamental freedoms and was interpreted in an overly restrictive manner. There was an overall increase in the number of candidates, including from the opposition, but […]
Parliamentary elections in Belarus did not meet a number of key international standards for democratic and free elections
CONCLUSIONS This year’s parliamentary elections were called against the backdrop of a complicated geopolitical situation in the world and Europe, in particular, which is primarily due to the Russian-Ukrainian crisis. Despite the fact that the vote was accompanied by unfavorable trends in social and economic spheres, the campaign took place against a more favorable internal […]
Report on Election Campaigning
In most regions, the conditions for campaigning were improved as compared to the previous elections. However, the candidates were not provided with equal rights; pro-government candidates enjoyed better conditions for campaigning: they made extensive use of the administrative resources, including electronic and print media; there were cases of pro-government candidates’ meetings with voters during working […]
Belarus: Citizen election observers’ conclusions on the conduct of the election campaign
CONCLUSIONS – the campaign was held within the time limits set by the Electoral Schedule (from the date of the registration of candidates on September 10, inclusive); the campaign was largely low key, failing to attract much public attention; – in most regions, the conditions for campaigning were improved as compared to the elections […]