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Parliamentary aspirants supported by “Tell the Truth!” movement hold joint event in Minsk to gather ballot-access signatures

Parliamentary aspirants supported by the “Tell the Truth!” movement held a joint event in Minsk on August 1 to gather ballot-access signatures.

They set up information pickets near the entrance to Kamarowski Rynak, a market place at the city center, to tell passers-by about the movement’s 25 representatives planning to run in the forthcoming House of Representatives elections. “We show that this team can make decisions,” Andrey Dzmitryew, deputy chairman of the “Tell the Truth!” movement, told BelaPAN.

He said that the event was aimed at not only gathering ballot-access signatures and informing people about the contenders, but also supporting the “Tell the Truth!” movement’s leader, Uladzimir Nyaklyayew. “Nyaklyayew himself can’t take part in such events. This is a very strange situation. He is a member of the nomination groups of all 25 contenders. Nevertheless, by a court decision, he was deprived of the right to gather signatures and take part in pre-election events,” Mr. Dzmitryew said.

On September 9, 2011, a court imposed additional restrictions on Mr. Nyaklyayew who had been convicted in connection with a post-election protest staged in Minsk on December 19, 2010. In particular, Mr. Nyaklyayew was banned from being an organizer and participant of “mass events.” He cannot go outside Minsk without written permission from the police and leave Belarus until his sentence expires.

During the event, activists of the “Tell the Truth!” movement also connected with Mr. Nyaklyayew by Skype, who greeted the parliamentary aspirants and call on voters to give signatures for their nomination as candidates.

Mr. Dzmitryyew said that the movement would continue to hold similar events in the area, and that the movement would have a permanent picket there after the candidate registration stage.

He added that similar events were held all over Belarus and in all electoral districts where contenders supported by the “Tell the Truth!” movement would be on the ballot.

Policemen watched the event but did not intervene.