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Six Belarusian Groups Call For Vote Boycott

September 21, 2012

Six Belarusian opposition groups have called on voters to boycott this weekend's parliamentary elections in that country.

Leaders of the opposition groups at a joint press conference in Minsk on September 21 denounced the elections as a farce marked by the detention of political activists.

They said there can be no free or fair elections while opponents of President Alyaksandr Lukashenka remained in jail.

They said an election boycott would be a vote of no-confidence in Lukashenka's regime.

The vote is expected to elect a rubberstamp parliament, with most powers remaining in the hands of Lukashenka -- who has ruled Belarus since 1994, continuing to crack down on dissent and independent media.

Amnesty International said the run-up to the voting had been marked by arrests and detention of opposition members.

The head of Belarus's Central Election Commission on September 17 criticized an announcement by the United Civic Union and the Belarusian National Front one day earlier to withdraw their candidates from the legislative elections.

Commission Secretary Mikalay Lozovik said the decision showed "disrespect for voters" and represented a "travesty of law."

With additional reporting by Reuters

Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/six-belarus-opposition-groups-urge-elections-boycott/24716030.html

Copyright (c) 2012. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.