Election pickets can be hold in only 20 out of 130 villages of the district of Kalinkavichy, Homel region, as ordered by a decision of the district’s executive committee.

Valery Rybchanka, candidate representing the Fair World’s Zhlobin office, has received a reply from the district’s executive committee, rejecting his proposal to expand the list of locations authorized for holding election campaigning events.

A concert has been reportedly arranged by the executive authorities of Minsk to campaign for pro-government candidates representing the Belaya Rus NGO, activists of the Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections campaign report.

The Hrodna-based “Hrodzenskaya Prauda” state-run newspaper is engaged in campaigning for local pro-government candidates Vasil Mikhno and Aliaksandr Siahodnik, says human rights defender and observer Raman Yurhel.

Anatol Bukas, editor-in-chief of the Barysau-based “Barysauskiya Naviny” independent newspaper running for Parliament in constituency No. 62, has been denied registration on the ground that he reportedly failed to report on the car he had sold back in 2011.

Human rights defender Uladzimir Vialichkin, registered as observer in constituency election commission No. 2, has lodged a lawsuit with the Judicial Chamber for Civil Cases of Brest Regional Court, demanding to reverse an earlier ruling by Brest Maskouski District Court.

Maladechna observer Ales Kaputski has received a reply to his complaint of posting a leaflet in one of the town’s schools campaigning for local pro-government candidate Mr. Kulesh three days ahead of his registration as a candidate.

The procedure of signature verification is totally closed to observers, say activists of the Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections campaign at a press-conference held in Viasna’s Minsk office on 27 August. Observers were allowed monitoring the submitted nominations in only 4 constituencies out of 110. In other constituencies signatures were not verified at the sittings of election commissions, despite the fact that the Electoral Code does not provide for the type of election activities. As a result, observers say they cannot be sure whether the procedures of signature verification met the requirements of the election legislation.

Registration of candidates for the parliament is the important stage of the election campaign, as it results in the list of the persons who will take part in the election. The essential task of the observers at this stage is to assess the conditions in which candidate registration was held, and to determine if the registration process was transparent and in compliance with the principles of free and democratic elections.

The Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections observation campaign is announcing a press-conference to be held at the Minsk office of the Human Rights Center “Viasna” on 27 August, 2012.

Ivan Sheha, member of the Belarusian Popular Front, and Mikhail Karatkevich, activist of the Fair World Party, both running for Parliament in Slonim constituency No. 58, have applied to local election commission for permission to arrange debates on the town’s TV Channel.

Pro-democratic activists from across the country keep submitting appeals against denials of registration as candidates for Parliament.

Mikhail Vasilyeu, Barysau activist of the United Civil Party, who was denied registration as a candidate for Parliament, is appealing the decision at the Central Election Commission.

Dzianis Dashkevich, Rahachou activist of the Tell the Truth campaign, who was denied registration as a candidate in the current parliamentary elections, has been questioned by the town’s KGB.

On 23 August, Mahiliou police detained local coordinators of the “For Free Elections” observation campaign Yury Novikau and Halina Lisitsyna.