Mikhal Pashkevich: “I understood it was a farce, but didn’t think it’s absolute farce”

• 1.08.2008, 9:10

Mikhal Pashkevich, observer of the United Civil Party, was present at a session of the Central Election Commission yesterday. Falsely accused of “using foul language in public”, he spent 15 days in jail.

M. Pashkevich met some problems at the registration stage: a report extract was wrong, a head of the law department explained. But the CEC decided “not to make red-tapery”.

They said the same when solving disputing questions for registration of other candidates, but only in some cases. Commission was selective when applying the law. “They acted according to a principle “I do what I want,” Mikhal told to www.ucpb.org.”tehy turn a blind eye to violations in some cases, and Lidziya Yarmoshyna says, “We are not bureaucrats.” But in other case she says, “We need to obey the law.” She answers to all objections why she acts in different ways, “it is we who interpret the law, not you.”

Mikhal Pashkevich was surprised that this approach was applied not only to opposition candidates, but also to people, who don’t belong to any institutions, but do no represent the regime, the people “who have found themselves brave enough to run in the election, though there is a candidate of the authorisers. Nine from ten people said they and members of their initiative groups had been pressed.”

Pashkevich had an impression at the session that the authorities “tried to demonstrate there was democratic election in Belarus, and to gain international recognition.” M. Pashkevich named CEC head L. Yarmoshyna a “good actress”.

A general impression Mikhal has is “I understood it was a farce, but I didn’t think it’s an absolute farce.”