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 […]
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 […]
Dossier: Impact of COVID-19 on election processes in the EaP and Russia
COVID-19 spread rapidly across the world in early 2020, with most governments instituting far-reaching pandemic mitigation measures, including nationwide lockdowns. In the Eastern Partnership countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine) and Russia, the main focus area of this report, the first domestic confirmed cases of COVID-19 were typically registered in late February or early […]
Changes to Election Code secure voter rights and counteract electoral fraud, but also pose risks to the electoral system
Source: www.ukrinform.net On 16 July the Verkhovna Rada adopted amendments to the Election Code which include several positive changes, such as drastically lowering electoral financial deposits in Local elections and providing that the use of any form of internet voting should be regulated in a separate law and that any piloting of this should only […]
Belarus Election Alert #4
Riot police confronting protesters in central Minsk. July 14, 2020 Viktar Babaryka and Valery Tsapkala were not registered to run for the Presidency. Babaryka was denied registration over alleged flaws in his income and property declaration and the participation of a foreign organization in his campaign as many in his nomination group are employees of […]
Evaluation of the pre-election environment for the 2020 Parliamentary elections
On October 31, 2020, regularly scheduled parliamentary elections will be held in Georgia. On June 1, the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED) launched nationwide monitoring of the pre-election period with approximately 70 long-term observers. The monitoring entails observation of the pre-election period, the Election Day and the post-election period. Along with the […]
Weekly report: nomination and signature collection phase
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 nomination and registration of presidential candidates took place in an atmosphere of threats, fear and pressure on voters in connection with their […]
Amendments to election law risk undermining conduct of free and fair elections
A draft law to amend electoral legislation, which election experts and observers have criticised for including provisions that could restrict both voter rights and activities of election observers, is likely to be adopted at breakneck speed, barely a month passing between its registration and likely adoption during its second reading in parliament this week. The […]
Online discussion summary: Belarus ahead of the presidential elections 2020
Three weeks ahead of the presidential election in Belarus, protests broke out across Belarus to support main rival candidates of President Lukashenka whose registrations have been denied by the Central Election Commission. Concurrently, for the first time OSCE/ODIHR has decided not to send an international observation mission following the lack of invitation of the Belarusian […]
Over 250 protesters arrested during protests sparked by denial of rival candidates’ registration
At least 280 people were detained by the police yesterday evening after hundreds demonstrated against the Central Election Commission’s Website of the Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections here