Belarus parliament elections

MINSK, 7 September (BelTA) – It is necessary to distinguish between an inflated voter turnout and highly active voters, BelTA learned from Chairwoman of the Central Election Commission (CEC) of Belarus Lidia Yermoshina on 7 September.

The head of the Belarusian election organization agency was asked to comment on statements made by so-called independent observers, who believe that the voter turnout at several polling stations for university students has exceeded the number of registered voters. According to the statements, the students were promised either days off or accommodation in a hall of residence for casting their votes early.

Lidia Yermoshina said: “You are mixing up two notions. You get an inflated voter turnout when the recorded number of votes exceeds the actual number of voters, who have cast their votes. While you are just talking about highly active voters. A totally different thing. You cannot cite facts when voting was not free. The administration has the right to promise days off to students.” In her words, promising preferences and bonuses to students can never be viewed as coercion.

Speaking about results of the first day of the early voting campaign, Lidia Yermoshina noted that she had expected voters to be traditionally active. About 25-30% of the votes are usually cast early in Belarus, she said. “I am not making any conclusions. Everything is as usual and traditional. The fact that no voters complain their voting is not free is the most important thing,” stressed Lidia Yermoshina.

BelTA reported earlier that on 6 September, the first day the early voting option was available as part of the campaign to elect members of the lower chamber of the Belarusian parliament as many as 3.92% of the registered number of voters went to the polls. Early voting will be available through 10 September. 11 September is the main voting day. As many as 6,990,696 citizens of the country will be able to cast their votes during these elections.