Opposition lacks observers for early voting
Around 2000 opposition observers are currently deployed to cover 6,500 polling stations across Belarus, with up to 3000 expected to monitor the polls on Election Day, September 28. Lawyer Uladzimir Labkovich believes that it is hard physically to cover all the polling stations.
Labkovich: “I think it is physically impossible to cover all the stations. In some rural constituencies, there are over 115 polling stations. But our election teams will take care of the stations where our strong candidates are running. Election monitoring will be represented there”.
At the same time, observers are also working in the constituencies where opposition candidates have pulled out after an efficient boycott campaign.
Anatol Lyabedzka: I will have approximately 100 observers in my constituency. I also have observers at 6 polling stations during early voting.
Independent candidate Viktar Kavalchuk has no observers for the early voting procedure. He will deploy 15 trustees to cover 39 polling stations on the election day. Viktar says keeping observers for early voting is just a waste of time.
“Observers will be only on the final day. Quite frankly, I don’t think it is necessary to observe during early voting. If one could monitor the ballot boxes at night, I would possibly seek resources to nominate observers for early voting”.
The United Pro-Democracy Forces (UDF) has prepared 1200 observers. Clearly, they will not be able to cover all the polling stations. According to observers’ coordinator Alexander Bukhvostau, UDF will focus on the constituencies where strong opposition candidates are running. But even there, observers do not spend the whole day on the spot.
“People work and come after. Some people like pensioners have a possibility of observing the voting process for the whole day”.
Yaraslau Bernikovich, a pro-democracy candidate in Vitsebsk, has observers at only 4 out of 70 polling stations, because he wants his people to have a comfortable life.
“They come after work, after 5 p.m. It is physically impossible to cover all the polling stations. Even if all of the people worked, it would have not been possible anyway”.
The opposition always complains that the early voting is not fair. But it looks like it definitely lacks observers. By the way, Uladzimir Labkovich says that the opposition deployed the same number of observers during the previous parliamentary elections.
Photo: bymedia.net
