Minsk Election Weekly V (January 16-January 20)

UNCLAS MINSK 000050 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL BO SUBJECT: Minsk Election Weekly V (January 16-January 20) ¶1. This is tha fifth in a wEekly series of election-oriented reports, providing brief items of interest related to the March 19, 2006 presidential elections. -------------- Signature Campaign -------------- ¶2. SIgnature Updates The initiative groups of the following presidential contenders released updates on the number of signatures collected to date: Candidate Number of Signatures Date -------------- -------------- -------------- MilInkevich 200,000 January 19 Gaidukevich 140,000 January 19 Kozulin 128,000 January 20 Poznyak 100,000 January 19 Fpolov 90,000 January 19 Skrebets 55,000 January 19 ¶3. Who Is Gathering For Lukashenko On January 17, Poloff spoke with three signature gatherers outqide the entrance of the State Department Store (GUM) in downtown Minsk. The gatherers did not say how many signatures they had collected, but admitted that they were GUM employees and not official members of Lukashenko's initiative group. ApparentlY, ald GUM employees arerequired to gather signatures for Lukashenko in two-hour shifts. On January 19, Ten Plus candidate Aleksandr Milinkevich and his initiative group released a press statement citing another couple of LukasheNko's alleged violations of the electoral law. According to the statement, a girl in the ninth grade in Vitebsk was collecting signatures for Lukashenko. On January 17, Secretary of the Central Election Committee (CEC) Nikolai Lozovik told Qol/Econ Chief that although the opposition candidates have made many press statements about alleged violations committed by Lukashenko, the CEC has not received any formal complaints against the President. Lozovik added that he would put little stock in Such complaints, because Lukashenko did not need to engage in illegal activity with such high levels of popular support. ¶4. Fears of Setups On January 17, presidential contender Aleksandr Kozulin's initiative group issued a statement accusing the authorities of hindering his campaign and the campaign of other opposition candidates. Sources allegedly informed Kozulin's group that territorial election commissions plan to replace authentic signatures with fake ones, giving the CEC reasons to invalidate Kozulin's valid signatures. Kozulin reported that a man from Mogilev allegedly offered to sell ballot-access signatures to Kozulin's group. According to Kozulin, the signatures proved to be ones collected during the 2001 campaign. Kozulin warned other presidential contenders to be wary of similar provocations. ¶5. Another Kozulin Complaint to the CEC Kozulin's initiative group on January 16 filed two more complaints to the CEC and General Prosecutor's Office for alleged violations of the electoral code. Kozulin's previous appeals to the CEC were rejected after CEC Secretary Lozovik claimed that the institutions in which employees were allegedly coerced to sign for Lukashenko did not exist. Kozulin's January 16 complaint claimed that the police and BKGB in Verkhnedvinsk, Vitebsk region, interfered in the group's work, inquired about the Kozulin's group members and their places of employment, and pressured citizens to withdraw their signatures. Kozulin accused authorities of denying his signature collectors access to the Minsk Radio Engineering College dormitory and evicting a student from a dormitory for being a member of Kozulin's group. Kozulin reported similar problems throughout Belarus and urged the authorities to investigate. ¶6. Obstacles for Poznyak Head of Zenan Poznyak's campaign Sergey Popkov told reporters on January 17 that authorities continue to interfere in his initiative group's signature campaign, but complaining about it to the CEC would be "useless." Popkov claimed that signature collectors are continuously barred from student dormitories and arrested at subway stations while gathering signatures. Popkov noted that Poznyak's group was documenting all incidents. ¶7. Milinkevich and Poznyak Warned The CEC on January 18 issued an official warning to Milinkevich and Poznyak's initiative groups for allegedly distributing campaign material during the signature collection campaign, which is a violation of Belarus' electoral code. Milinkevich called the warning "far-fetched" and plans to appeal the warning to the Supreme Court. Poznyak's group admitted it distributed printed materials, but claimed it was legal because citizens did not have information about presidential contenders. Poznyak encouraged other initiative groups to distribute information about their contenders. After Poznyak's remarks, Head of the CEC Ludmilla Yermoshina regretted that the CEC's warning had been "too mild." ¶8. Head Of the CEC Makes Predictions CEC head Yermoshina in a January 17 interview with independent newspaper BDG Delovaya Gazeta predicted that elections would be calm without any protests. According to Yermoshina, the election results were more or less predictable and named Lukashenko as the strongest figure in the elections, but refrained from commenting on the chances of other contenders. The CEC head hoped that no less than three contenders would be registered as candidates, but did not expect more than four to make it on the ballot. Yermoshina claimed all contenders were given equal opportunities as stated in the law. However, the President had an advantage over the other candidates, since much of the electorate supported him and was more willing to collect signatures on his behalf. -------------- Observations -------------- ¶9. MFA Invites CIS, ODIHR Observers On January 18, the MFA announced that it had invited the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS),the Collective Security Treaty Organization, and the Eurasian Economic Community to observe Belarus' elections. On January 19, the MFA announced it had invited ODIHR observers as part of Belarus' steps to ensure that the elections were conducted in accordance with international standards. Head of the CEC Yermoshina expected 700 international observers to be invited and over 20,000 Belarusian citizens to participate in observations. The MFA warned international organizations to "strictly follow" Belarusian legislation and not interfere in the election process. The MFA hoped that the conclusions of the international monitors would not be "biased" or "politicized." ODIHR spokeswoman Urdur Gunnarsdottir told reporters that the ODIHR needs assessment team would arrive in Belarus the week of January 23. ¶10. CEC Approves Requirements for International Observers The CEC on January 18 approved rules of observation for March's presidential election. According to CEC Secretary Lozovik, all international observers are to obtain accreditation with the CEC by presenting their invitation. Accreditation will be valid from day of issuance until the day the official election results are announced. International observers are allowed to attend sessions of elections commissions at all levels, meet with presidential candidates, representatives of political parties, and other organizations. Lozovik also noted that despite reports to the contrary, all observers will be allowed to observe the vote counting process. Furthermore, observers have the right to freely express their opinion about the vote, but are not allowed to use their accreditation for activities not connected with the election. Violators will lose their accreditation. ¶11. CIS Observation Team in Place Vladimir Rushailo, head of the CIS election observation mission in Belarus, announced the CIS observation mission's plans to reporters on January 18. The observation team, comprised of foreign staff members, permanent CIS representatives in Belarus, and CIS diplomats would begin with a visit to Beryoza district in Brest on January 19. The CIS Executive Committee asked the CIS Inter-Parliamentary Assembly and the Belarusian and Russian Parliaments to contribute monitors. The CIS's teams will be permanently based in regional capitals and will organize observations on the ground, maintain contact with local election commissions, monitor campaign coverage in the local media, and monitor voting at polling stations. ¶12. CIS Monitor Praises Belarus' Electoral Law, Criticizes OSCE Rushailo told reporters on January 18 that Belarus' electoral code met all international and CIS standards. Rushailo, whose long-term observation of Belarus' March Elections began on January 18, claimed Belarus' election campaign was being conducted in accordance with national law. According to Rushailo, the CIS and ODIHR interpret facts differently. For example, during the elections in Kazakhstan, ODIHR claimed incumbent President Nazarbayev received more state media coverage than the other contenders. The CIS team, however, noted that Nazarbayev's coverage was mostly negative, worse than what the opposition suffered, and hurt Nazarbayev more than it helped. Rushailo opined that the ODIHR needed to create uniform election assessment standards and criticized ODIHR's accusations that country leaders use "excessive" administrative leverage during elections. He opined that ODIHR should first define what "administrative leverage" was and use a case-by-case approach to determine when it is excessive. Rushailo noted that the CIS's observation conclusions were similar to those of Chinese and Ukrainian MP observation teams. On January 19, Rushailo announced that the CIS team would not recognize exit poll results, citing their unreliability due to poorly trained pollsters who were unfamiliar with the proper methodology. -------------- What is Planned -------------- ¶13. Polling Booth Locations On January 17, the CEC Secretary Lozovik announced that there would be approximately 7,000 polling stations in Belarus, each with 20 to 3,000 voters on the register depending on the location. Village hospitals, for example, would have around 20 voters on their registers and city election districts would have between 2,000 and 3,000. Lozovik told journalists that it was the local executive government's responsibility, not the CEC's, to determine election district boundaries. On January 18, the CEC established the location of 41 polling stations abroad. ¶14. Info Center in Minsk CEC Secretary Lozovik told reporters on January 18 that an information center would be created at the Palace of the Republic in downtown Minsk during the presidential election on March 19. Rector of the Presidential Management Academy, Stanislav Knyazev, was assigned to make the necessary arrangements. According to Lozovik, the center will provide "unbiased and prompt" information during the election by displaying voter turnout and results on large TV screens. Chair of the CEC Ludmila Yermoshina will also hold several news conferences at the information center. ¶15. Contenders to Submit Income Statements The CEC on January 18 ordered presidential contenders to submit their income and property statements by February 11. According to the CEC, presidential bidders are required to report not only their previous year's income and property, but also those of their parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren, siblings, spouses, and in-laws. Once all the information is collected, the CEC will verify the documents and publish them in the newspapers within ten days. -------------- Opposition Strategy -------------- ¶16. Former Contender Joins Alternative Vote Drive Former presidential contender Aleksandr Voitovich and his initiative group joined Poznyak's drive to organize an alternative vote. Poznyak asked Lukashenko opponents to cast fake ballots on Election Day and take the original ballots to an independent election commission to be counted. The objective is to discover the actual number of people who voted for Lukashenko. Voitovich told independent news source BelaPan on January 18 that the plan could prove to be effective if all democratic contenders would drop out of the race. Voitovich and Poznyak's groups are reportedly preparing to launch a promotional campaign for the alternative vote. ¶17. Potential Agreement Between Candidates? During a January 16 trip to Molodechno, Milinkevich reportedly backed a proposal from Kozulin's initiative group to hold talks with presidential contenders after the end of the signature campaign. According to Kozulin's associate, Aleksei Korol, Milinkevich agreed that candidates should hold talks on January 28 to determine who has higher ratings and more ballot-access signatures and who represents a wider range of the electorate. Milinkevich told reporters that a boycott of the presidential election should be discussed only if all six presidential contenders bow out of the race. ¶18. Milinkevich's Platform On January 13, the National Committee of Pro-Democratic Forces, the opposition's shadow government, posted its economic and social platform on the United Civic Party (UCP) website. Deputy UCP Chair and co-author of the platform Yaroslav Romanchuk told independent online news source BelaPan that the document outlines steps that Milinkevich's team would take if elected president. The five-section platform deals with family values, labor and social matters, improvement of legislation, innovation activities, and scientific development. Romanchuk expects the platform to restore political and economic freedoms, alleviate the tax burden, create favorable conditions for attracting foreign investments, raise pensions and benefits, and increase the birth rate. The platform envisages government reform by downsizing security agencies and creating a dynamic workforce market that would raise Belarus' competitiveness in foreign markets. -------------- Quote of the Week -------------- During her January 17 interview, Head of the CEC Ludmilla Yermoshina commented on why the March elections will be calm: "I am absolutely certain that the elections will be calm, because the social and economic basis for a shock are absent in Belarus. The attitude in society attests that the results of the elections will be sufficiently predictable." KROL