Central Election Commission intends to minimize the number of places where the action teams of the contenders for the presidency of Belarus are banned to hold pickets to collect signatures for nominating candidates. This was reported on September 28 by the CEC Chairman Lidia Yermoshina.
According to the recent amendments made to the Electoral Code of Belarus, holding pickets to collect signatures for nominating presidential candidates are allowed everywhere except in the places where they are banned by the local authorities, BelTA informs.
The list of the banned areas for pickets was revised on the CEC initiative. For example, the Minsk City Executive Committee, guided by considerations of safety, planned to ban pickets in underground passages. However, the CEC insisted to remove the ban and to allow the action groups to collect signatures in underground passages in Minsk.
Lidia Yermoshina believes it will be especially important during the autumn frosts, which falls during the collection of signatures.»Pedestrian crossings will be a natural shelter for the action teams,» the CEC head said.
Authorities banned to hold the pickets at the presidential residence
In addition, the pickets are allowed to be hold in markets buildings, railway stations, shopping centers. Restrictions on picketing in Minsk are imposed only on the three central squares, and also within a radius of 300 meters from the residence of the president of Belarus and 50 meters from the buildings of prosecution, courts, law enforcement agencies and embassies.
Thus, according to the CEC, comfortable environment for collecting signatures in support of potential presidential candidates will be created for the action teams. Lidia Yermoshina added that the CEC hopes that many of the action teams will be able to cope with the difficult task to collect 100 thousand signatures, and that there will be many candidates in the upcoming elections.
The head of the CEC reported that all the members of action groups will receive certificates, subscription lists and methodological explanations for the election till the end of September 28. The collection of signatures may be started by all the action groups at the same time on September 30. They should submit the petitions to the district election commissions at the place of gathering signatures on October 29.
According to the schedule of the election campaign in 2010, the registration of presidential candidates should be completed before November 23. However, Lidia Yermoshina expects that the CEC will cope with this problem earlier and, the candidates will begin campaigning up to a month before the election.
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