A meeting of the Central Commission of Belarus for Elections and National Referendums (CEC) to consider the issue of registration of presidential candidates for the election of December 19 was held at 12:00 on November 18, Telegraf reports.
The total number of presidential candidates in Belarus amounted to 10 people. They became BPF Deputy Chairman Rygor Kastuseu, incumbent president Alexander Lukashenko, the head of the Union «For modernization» Ales Michalevic, the leader of the campaign «Tell the truth!» Vladimir Niakliaeu, deputy chairman of the United Civil Party Yaroslav Romanchuk, co-chairman of the organizing committee for the creation of the «Belarusian Christian Democracy» Vital Rymasheuski, leader of the campaign «European Belarus» Andrei Sannikov, the head of the organizing committee of the Belarusian Social Democratic Party (People’s Hramada) Nikolai Statkevich, an economist Viktor Tereshchenko, «Trivium» company director Dmitri Uss.
Only the individual entrepreneur from Vitsebsk Vladimir Provalski was not registered.
As noted by the CEC secretary Nikolai Lozovik, the electoral commission had created necessary conditions for the unimpeded work of action groups. «Moreover, local authorities have expressed tolerance and restraint, even when members of action groups went beyond the electoral law. In general, the collection of signatures has passed in a free and democratic manner, which enabled most of the action groups to reach the needed mark of 100 thousands signatures,» he stressed.
All but Lukashenko Committed Errors, Lozovik
According to Nikolai Lozovik, all action groups, except for the group of Alexander Lukashenko, have committed the following errors: fake signatures on behalf of fictitious persons; the signatures on behalf of different people, made by a single person; the signatures of people, not eligible for voting; the signatures, collected by non-members of action groups, etc.
Rygor Kastuseu has received 107 thousand signatures, but verification has identified 6.3% of invalid signatures, as a result the CEC has recognized only 100.8 thousand signatures. Alexander Lukashenko has got 1.1 million signatures, with 0.4% of faults (969 signatures).
Ales Michalevic has collected 120 thousand signatures, but only 111 thousand signatures have been counted due to 6.4% of fake signatures. CEC has recognized 180 thousand signatures from 194 thousand, submitted for Vladimir Niakliaeu. Yaroslav Romanchuk has got 127 thousand signatures with final figures of 123 thousand due to 3.5% of faults; Vital Rymasheuski — 102 thousand with 5.9% of faults.
Nikolai Statkevich, submitted 116 thousand signatures, resulted in 111 thousand with 5% of invalid signatures; Viktor Tereshchenko has got 109 thousand from 123 thousand of submitted signatures (8.5%). Dmitri Uss has resieved only 104 thousand from 109 thousand signatures due to 6.1% of faults.
Simultaneously with the announcement of official results of the signature collection in alphabetical order there was a process of registering candidates for the presidency. Alexander Lukashenko, Vladimir Niakliaeu and Vital Rymasheuski were absent at the meeting, but they were represented by Alexander Radkov, Vasili Leonov and Pavel Seviarynets respectively.
Also, the CEC has registered agents and financial representatives of presidential candidates.
