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Organizer of Eurovision 2012 national final not been notified of any probe into vote rigging allegations

The Belarusian State Television and Radio Company (BSTRC) has not been notified formally of any probe into the selection of Alena Lanskaya as Belarus’ entry at the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest, a source at the company that organized the Eurofest national selection contest, told BelaPAN on Sunday.

It is not yet known whether it has actually been opened, the source said.

Belarus’ web portal tut.by reported on February 16 that Alyaksandr Lukashenka had ordered the establishment of a special commission to probe the selection process amid reports that the jury vote and viewer poll at the final of the national selection contest had been rigged.

“We read the report on the Internet,” the source at the BSTRC told BelaPAN. “We have not received any papers or instructions or anything official, which could confirm it. We applied to the Presidential Administration, but it would not comment.”

The Eurofest final was held in Minsk on February 14. After the 26-year-old Lanskaya, a resident of Mahilyow, was announced the winner, her closest rival, Litesound band frontman Dzmitry Karakin, walked out of the ceremony in protest, while another runner-up, Hyunesh, did not even appear in the stage.

The press office of national telecommunications monopoly Beltelecom, which organized the telephone vote among viewers, refused to comment to tut.by on February 16 on the report.

On the same day, the BSTRC promised to disclose details of the telephone vote to the public but never did it.

Reports on February 18 had it that members of the jury were being questioned in the framework of the probe.

“I have not heard of any commissions,” Alyaksandr Tsikhanovich, Eurofest coordinator who chaired the jury, told BelaPAN. “Eurofest had nothing to do with the vote. It was organized by providers. We were just given the results, which our hosts read out. I chaired the jury and can say only one thing: our opinions differed as the jury voted for Litesound and the viewers for Lanskaya.” // BelaPAN