Belarus' Central Election Commission chairperson Lidziya Yarmoshyna. Photo: Zmicier Lukashuk
CEC chairperson Lidziya Yarmoshyna has explained why opposition members are not admitted to election committees.
There is no evident reason not to admit oppositionists to election committees, she said in an interview with the magazine of the President’s Administration Belaruskaya Dumka. Opposition representatives seeking membership on election committees are no morons, they are decent people and many of them are university graduates, she admitted.
"However, someone's ability to work in a team is assessed in the first place when election committees are set up. An election committee is a team and open demonstration of your political views may impede the cause. This thing was taken into account as regards the admission of representatives of opposition structures to election committees,” Yarmoshyna stated.
For instance, only 1 out of 83 people suggested by the opposition United Civil Party has become an election committee member. None of the 17 persons suggested by the Movement For Freedom were admitted.