Rector demands to vote early

• 23.09.2008, 16:25

The so called preventive conversations of teachers with students were held in Pushkin Brest State University today. As student of Faculty of History Aleh Lyohki told to Radio Svaboda, rector Mechyslau Chasnouski orders to university staff to vote early.

“A subdean visited our lesson and said, “Those who live in hostels, raise your hands”. After that he addressed the students, ”I ask you to visit your polling station today or tomorrow and vote,” Aleh Lyohki tells.

“The subdean said it was an order of the rector,” Aleh Lyohki tells. “He said the rector demanded the staff to vote early, and I demand that you do it.”

“We don’t want our faculty to have problems. So, everyone must vote,” the subdean told to the students.

It should be reminded that early voting at the “parliamentary election” begins today. The current system of early voting gives wide opportunities for rigging the votes. There are a great number of examples when workers of collective farms, students of universities and colleges were made to vote early at the previous “parliamentary elections”.

In 1994, at the election of the first president of Belarus, early voting was used, too. But then one needed to give documents, proving he or she has serious grounds for early voting. This rule was later cancelled. The number of early voters is increasing constantly, reaching 20–30 per cent of the total number of voters. It evokes distrust to the early voting,” lawyer Mikhail Pliska, expert of the election legislation, notes.

“From my point of view, people have negative attitude towards early voting not due to the very fact of its existence. They have no trust to polling station election commissions. Control of voting and keeping of ballot boxes is not provided during the early voting. It causes negative attitude towards early voting,” M. Pliska explains.