Valery Karankevich, member of the Belarusian Popular Front Party and candidate for Parliament in Krychau constituency No. 83, has lodged a complaint with the prosecutor of Klimavichy district Aliaksandr Zemliakou against Mrs. Maryia Prakopchyk, head of the district executive committee’s ideology department, who banned the candidate’s election picket scheduled for 12 September.

“What Mrs. Prakopchyk did came as a shock to me, as she initially told me and my election agent Aliaksandr Balobin that we did not have to submit any written applications for holding a picket, she said the very fact of our notifying her would be enough to stage a picket in any authorized place in the town, she said there would be no problems. However, she then banned the picket, because she had not been notified in the written form. It is ridiculous. It now seems to me that the official is either absolutely ignorant or she actually deliberately framed us. The prosecutor accepted the complaint and promised to see to the matter,” says Valery Karankevich.

Apart from that, the opposition candidate is expected to lodge another appeal with the constituency election commission to demand investigation into the reported abuse of administrative resources by his rival, pro-government candidate Uladzimir Krautsou.

“Uladzimir Krautsou has held numerous meetings with employees of state-owned enterprises in their working hours, he travels around town in the company’s cars and is campaigned for at state-run organizations,” says the candidate.

“Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections”