Government-backed contender confident of victory in parliamentary by-election in Grodno

Grodno, 19 March. Sergei Maskevich, rector of Grodno State University, said he was confident of his victory in Sunday's repeat election for the House of Representatives. "I believe I stand a 100-percent chance of winning the vote," the government-backed candidate told BelaPAN on Saturday. Mr. Maskevich noted that his campaign aides had reported no abuses during the early voting process that started on March 15. In a start contrast, Mr. Maskevich's two pro-democracy rivals, Sergei Antusevich of the Belarusian Popular Front and ex-MP Valery Frolov, were wary of possible falsification. In particular, Mr. Antusevich accused the authorities of forcing students and the staff of educational institutions to vote early. Apart from this, he added, poll workers have refused to release any data about voter numbers. According to the contender, Mr. Maskevich's campaign has employed smear tactics, distributing attack ads targeting both him and Mr. Frolov. Both opposition candidates were skeptical about the possibility of conducting exit polls. "I don't see much sense in it," Mr. Frolov told BelaPAN. "The findings of exit polls taken on October 17 were not helpful. For instance, the results of those polls gave a lead in the vote to Vladimir Kolos in his district. And how did it help Mr. Kolos? And if we conduct exit polls, what should we do with its findings? That's why we are not going to waste time and money on such steps." Mr. Frolov, who was one of the most vocal critics of Aleksandr Lukashenko in the previous lower chamber, expressed his determination to contest the official results if the vote is marred by large-scale fraud. "We are going to meet today to discuss whether it makes sense and what we will do in the event of massive falsification," he said. "There are many ideas on this point and we will discuss the proposals today." Mr. Antusevich was more cautious on the matter. "I don't make any plans in this regard and I don't want to make any sensational statements about possible revolutions, etc. We'll see how things will develop," the BPF contender stressed.