Lidziya Yarmoshyna
Early voting has always been demonized by opposition leaders, Lidziya Yarmoshyna, the chairperson of the Central Election Commission, commented on people’s fears that ballot-box stuffing might happen during early voting in the upcoming election to Belarus’ parliament.
“Let us not forget that the opposition, as usual, is preparing for defeat. To do it properly, one needs to tar, destroy reputation of those who go to the polls. They (opposition) are constantly engaged in such actions,” Lidziya Yarmoshyna told state-controlled TV station ONT.
“I do not believe that ballots are stuffed. <…> The boxes are sealed. What do they [opposition] want us to do? To fingerprint?” the CEC chairperson said.
At the same time, the top official noted that any election is not a predictable process. According to her, some political forces may use the elections as an opportunity to aggravate the political situation.
“These calls of them show that the participants in the events of 2010 [post-election protests and further arrests] have not learned the lesson even in prison. They are trying to provoke some acts of disobedience again. That is the biggest threat. When it comes to other problems, we will be able to tackle them. Everything is under control,” Yarmoshyna promised.
The 2016 parliamentary election in Belarus will be held on 11 September.
