Central election commission rejects yet another complaint about electoral law violations by Lukashenko

2001-09-20 20:15:00

Minsk, 20 September. The central election commission has rejected the Belarusian Helsinki Committee (BHC)'s September 6 request to remove Aleksandr Lukashenko from the presidential race for violating the Electoral Code. The BHC drew the central election commission to the free distribution of the September 5 special edition of the state newspaper Sovetskaya Belorussiya, which carried Mr. Lukashenko's election platform. Since the paper had run the incumbent's platform before, the repeated publication contravened the principle of equal media access opportunities, which had been proclaimed by the central election commission itself, the BHC noted. In addition, the printing and delivery expenses on the special edition exceeded the amount allocated to the candidate for his campaign. The BHC said that the printing and delivery costs totaled more than $20,000, whereas each candidate had received about $12,000 for his campaign. Under the Belarusian Electoral Code, candidates have no right to use money from sources other than public funds distributed by the central election commission. In its reply to the BHC, the central election commission says that the publication and free distribution of the Sovetskaya Belorussiya special edition "could not influence the results of the presidential election in the the Republic of Belarus and does not provide the central election commission with grounds to take any measures" against Mr. Lukashenko. The BHC notes that it received the reply only on September 18, although the central election commission should have considered the complaint before the polling day, September 9. The BHC regards the central election commission's reply as "cynical defiance of the law and deliberate connivance at government officials' criminal acts."