Strange unanimity at early voting
- 26.04.2010, 9:01
The results of the early voting and voting on the election day differ in a strange way.
Observers visited two polling stations in Polatsk (#15 and 16), where opposition candidates, representatives of the Left Party Fair World, ran in the elections. Mikalai Sharstsyuk, an observer at polling station #15 told the campaign “Human Rights Activists for Free Elections”:
“The ballots from the early voting and election day, and ballots from home voting were counted separately. The votes from early and home voting were given to pro-governmental candidates. The results the election day were as follows: about 80 percent for pro-governmental candidates, about 10 percent for the Fair World candidate, and the rest against all candidates. Observers stood at a distance of some metres from the commission. The final report wasn’t put up, the chairman just brushed us aside: “I hove no time, I need to go”/ we could receive the data only form a secretary.
According to observers, the turnout in Polatsk was about 70 percent.
Alyaksandr Silkou, one of the leaders of the organizing committee of the Party of Freedom and Progress and region council candidate in Tsentralny constituency #37 in Mahilou, received no votes at the early elections.
Alyaksandr Silkou says:
“I didn’t get a single vote at nine polling stations in my constituency at the early elections. It is symbolic that I received equal number of votes, 253, at two polling stations. The figures were the same at other stations, give or take 20 votes,” Alyaksandr Silkou notes.
“I think the local council elections are a rehearsal of the presidential elections. If the authorities ban early voting, they won’t win,” the politician says.
Ihar Maslouski’s agent Syarhei Srednikau recorded at polling station #113 in constituency #16 (school #35) in Brest that an empty final report had been signed by all election commission members except for the chairman. The commission chairman put the data on the vote count in the report that had already been signed.