Homiel activist appealing to Province Court against non-registration

The basis for the refusal to register the initiative group of Piotar Kuzniatsou, the Movement for Freedom (the MFF) Homiel province coordinator, was the excessive number of the group members. The activist considers such decision to be absurd.

Kuzniatsou appealed to the Province Election Commission with two objections against the decision of the territorial commission on the election of deputies for the Local Deputies Council concerning non-registration of his initiative group. First, the group could have been registered in the quantity of ten persons as is required by the Election Code, and as the City Commission did in similar cases. Second, the Law obliges election commissions to provide all possible support to contenders, including information support. In particular, this means that the officials should have pointed out the mistake when they saw it, and should have provided the opportunity to correct it.

However, the complaint was dismissed – though the same day, the same commission registered the initiative group of another contender in a similar situation.

As the result, Kuzniatsou sent a request for summons to the Homiel Province Court on February 25. According to the activist, however, he raises a totally new aspect of this problem now.

“In accordance with the Constitution and with the international obligations of the Republic of Belarus in the area of human rights, every citizen has the right to rule both personally and through lawfully elected representatives. Literally, this means that everyone has the right to delegate a candidate for a certain office – not only to vote, but also to delegate, because participation of every person could be critical in such case: a certain representative could be not delegated without such person’s presence. Criteria of participation in parliamentary or presidential elections are completely practical in this sense, since they do not limit the number of citizens for delegating a representative for elected offices. What concerns local elections, a discriminatory approach is used which is clearly seen in my case – it turns out that ten citizens have the right to delegate me as candidate for deputy, but another eleven citizens do not have such right. This is pure discrimination!” Kuzniatsou thinks.

Kuzniatsou said he thinks that this problem raised by him should finally be considered by the Constitutional Court.

“Today, Belarusian citizens are debarred from the right to directly appeal to the Constitutional Court in order to initiate consideration of compliance of a certain Act with the Constitution. In our appeal, however, we demand this should be done by the Province Court, and bring forward our reasons. If our position is not supported in Belarus, we would appeal to international human rights institutions.

For reference – On February 19, the District Commission No.19 on election to the Homiel Province Council refused to register Kuzniatsou’s initiative group because the activist filed the list of 21 member of the group, while the Election Code prescribes that an initiative group cannot include more than 10 persons.

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