Election abroad

The information came in from the MFF observers in Berlin, Bonn, Warsaw, Vilnius, Prague, and Washington.

Berlin

The observers of the Movement for Freedom (the MFF) Usievalad Siniak and Ina Valitskaya weren’t allowed to come close to the tables with ballot papers during vote count; therefore, they had no possibility to see the marks put by voters. Moreover, unknown persons who were neither the election commission members, nor observers, nor journalists were present at the premises of the election precinct. The observers’ demand to remove the persons whose presence isn’t envisaged by the Law and to provide the possibility to see the marks in ballot papers wasn’t satisfied. The observers left the election precinct in protest.

The official results of voting in Berlin:

 

Alaksandr Lukashenka − 60.5%

Andrey Sannikau − 13%
Yaraslau Ramanchuk − 5.5%
Uladzimir Niaklayeu − 5%
Ales Mikhalevich − 2.5%
Vital Rymasheuski − 2.5%
Mikola Statkievich − 2,5%
Dzmitriy Us − 1.5%
Viktar Tsiareshchanka − 1.5%
Ryhor Kastusiou − 1%
Against All Candidates − 3%
Invalid Ballot Papers − 1.5%

Bonn

The observers were treated deliberately suavely; however, this lasted only till vote count. The commission members closed the vote count procedure by their backs. When one of the observers managed to notice that a ballot paper without a mark in the second row was placed in the “For Lukashenka” pile, she asked to show that ballot paper. With the conjurer’s swiftness, the commission’s member pulled out another ballot paper with a mark for the current head of state. The commission’s head warned the observer of the inadmissibility of interfering in the commission’s work. The commission members stood to each other even more closely. It was impossible to see anything. After the vote count, the commission’s head refused to sign the reports on the violation of the election procedure.

Vilnius

Unidentified persons were present at the precinct. The attempts of single persons to vote for the entire family were frequently noticed. Many people came who weren’t registered in the consulate. In the noontime, the commission’s head announced the quantity of ballot papers could prove insufficient. Some Belarusian citizens took a decision not to participate in the voting in Vilnius due to the limited quantity of ballot papers.

The commission’s head allowed the observers to stay during vote count only at the distance of five metres or more. It was also prohibited to take pictures of the vote count process. The vote count lasted for 20 minutes in complete silence.

Warsaw

The observation during the last day of early voting discovered a very low voter turnout (4 persons) which seemed strange in the context of the high turnout during the first four days.

Relations between the observers and the election commission were rather amicable during the voting on December 19. However, during vote count, the commission was completely ignoring the initial requests and later demands of the observers to ensure the transparency of the process. The observers weren’t allowed to come close to the tables with ballot papers or even to observe standing. The commission members were standing with their backs turned to the observers, didn’t show the ballot papers, and the vote count was performed pro forma (they sorted out the ballot papers that weren’t counted, placed them in groups of several pieces, and laid them in the pile for the “main” candidate).

The observers’ request to show several random ballot papers from the piles for candidates Lukashenka and Sannikau (the leaders of the vote count) led to a slight panic and was decisively declined.

The share of the election’s “favourite” amounted to 92% during the early voting and to 42% during the main voting day. Therefore, the support of the alternative candidates increased significantly on the main voting day.

The official results of the election:

Ryhor Kastusiou − 1.33%
Alaksandr Lukashenka − 56.7%
Ales Mikhalevich − 0.9%
Uladzimir Niaklayeu − 6.7 %
Yaraslau Ramanchuk − 9.1%
Vital Rymasheuski − 2%
Andrey Sannikau − 17.9%
Mikola Statkievich − 2.2%
Viktar Tsiareshchanka − 0.7%
Dzmitriy Us − 0.5%
Against All Candidates − 1.6%

Washington

The attitude of the commission members towards the observers was almost like to their friends in the beginning – they were allowed to inspect the ballot boxes, and to see every document. However, the situation changed when vote count began. The place of vote count was closed by the backs of the commission members. The proposal to voice the intermediate results of the vote count was declined. When the commission head was offered to read the article No.55 of the Election Code, he recommended the observers to study more attentively those articles that included their own obligations – that is to say, other articles of the Election Code aren’t the observers’ business.

Prague

The observer didn’t discover any violations during the voting day in Prague. However, he also had no possibility to see the marks in ballot papers as he was staying at the distance of three metres from the tables with ballot papers. The commission head voiced only the final results of vote count, and made a copy of the minutes with the signatures of the commission members.

***

Having analysed the reports of the observers from abroad, the conclusion can be made that the election commissions worked under the same pattern – hid the vote count with their backs, and declined any requests of the observers to ensure the procedure’s transparency.

All news