Leanid Markhotka, leader of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee’s Salihorsk office, keeps urging local authorities to provide information on nominations to local constituency election commissions, submitting another complaint to Minsk regional executive committee.

Five representatives of Belarusian political parties have become members of the Central Election Commission, including the Fair World Party, the UCP and the Belarusian Popular Front. According to the CEC’s press-service, they will have the right of an advisory vote.

A number of constituency election commissions of Minsk have not allowed observers representing the Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections campaign monitoring the procedures of signature verification and checking the papers submitted by nominees.

The appeal submitted to the office of Brest Regional Prosecutor deals with the incident of 2 August when Baranavichy human rights defender Siarhei Housha was summoned to the city’s police department and charged with “hooliganism” for alleged swearing at a sitting of constituency election commission No. 5 back on 23 July.

Viktar Buzinayeu, Babruisk leader of the United Civil Party of Belarus, has been summoned for interrogation to local KGB office.

Yauhen Rybakou, member of the Belarusian Popular Front running for Parliament in Minsk constituency No. 105, has been dismissed from the Laser-Graphics private company, after the firm’s manager told him they did not need a cutter anymore.

Local executive authorities have enforced a number of decisions that considerably limit out-of-doors election campaigning locations in towns and villages across Belarus, observers of the Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections campaign report.

General Conclusions:

- The vast majority of the initiative groups in support of the opposition candidates were registered. 85 initiative groups were denied registration, which is percentagewise almost 4 times the number of denials during the parliamentary elections in 2008. - There are registered facts of the authorities creating obstacles for members of the opposition candidates’ initiative groups and using administrative resources for the benefit of those who support the government. - At the signature collection stage members of initiative groups have filed a total of 15 complaints, while during the presidential election of 2010 more than 50 complaints were filed. The complaints are mainly about no access to dormitories of state enterprises and institutions for members of initiative groups.

Minsk Zavodski District Court has dismissed a complaint by the Belarusian Social Democratic Party (Hramada) against non-inclusion of its 8 members in the district’s constituency election commissions.

Potential candidate Aliaksandr Melnik in Brest has received a reply from the Central Election Commission, saying that campaigning for local pro-government candidate Viktar Valiushytski, chief manager of the “TSUM” department store, is legal.

The courts of Leninski and Kastrychnitski districts of Mahiliou have dismissed the complaints against non-inclusion of representatives of the Belarusian Popular Front “Adradzhenne” in local constituency election commissions.

Baranavichy observer Siarhei Housha has received a reply to his appeal signed by head of Baranavichy City Prosecutor’s Office Mr. Bildzeika.

Uladzislau Yarashou, member of the initiative group of Uladzimir Punchanka, potential candidate representing the For Freedom movement, has been summoned on the phone for conversation to the KGB Mahiliou office.

Ivan Sheha, Slonim pro-democratic activist running for Parliament in local constituency No. 58, and another opposition activist Ivan Bedka have lodged a complaint with the Central Election Commission, to express their discontent with the activities of the town’s constituency election commission.

Yuliya Balakir, the head of the electoral headquarters of a candidate of the civil initiative “Tell the Truth!” Aliaksandr Solap, appealed actions of the deputy head of the Slutsk District Executive Committee on ideology Larysa Dabravolskaya to the commission of the constituency election commission # 67 and the Central Election Commission.