Alyaksandr Milinkevich, leader of the Movement for Freedom, has been denied registration as a candidate for the House of Representatives, the head of the politician’s nomination group, Yury Melyashkevich, told BelaPAN on Wednesday.
According to Mr. Melyashkevich, the decision was made by the district election commission of Uruchskaya Electoral District No. 109, which rejected 15 percent of Mr. Milinkevich’s ballot-access signatures as invalid. In addition, the commission claimed that his income and property statement was defective because he reported his ownership of a house but failed to report his ownership of the land under the house.
"It is obvious that this is a politically motivated decision and that the commission’s approach to considering his application was extremely biased," Mr. Melyashkevich said. "We had had no illusions about the parliamentary elections but still hoped that the commission’s decision, which was actually made at the highest government level, would be positive."
"By denying access to the ballot for a strong alternative, the authorities showed that they did not want to democratize the election process, which would contribute to finding a way out of the political and economic isolation of Belarus," Mr. Melyashkevich commented.
He added that the Movement for Freedom would appeal the commission’s decision.
