Will observers be able to see which candidate is ticked in a ballot? “We don't write such things in manuals because they're too subjective,” Jarmoshyna says.
Lidzija Jarmoshyna, the Chairperson of the Central Election Commission, gave an evasive reply when asked on Tuesday whether observers in the forthcoming House of Representatives elections would be allowed to see which candidate is ticked on a ballot while ballots are being counted.
Although a manual for election officers has been issued ahead of the parliamentary poll, “we don't write such things in manuals because they're too subjective,” Ms. Jarmoshyna told reporters in Minsk.
According to her, the brochure contains role-play exercises for members of election commissions and specific answers to frequently asked questions.
The election staff is learning to give answers to frequently asked questions through role plays, paying special attention to their interaction with observers during the vote count, she said.
According to the manual, the observers should be seated in a way that allows them to watch the actions of the election commission, provided that they do not impede its work, Ms. Jarmoshyna said.
The manual says that if an observer comes closer to the table on which ballot papers are being counted because he cannot observe the process, the chairperson of a precinct election commission should not tell him to go back and threaten him with ejection from the polling station, she said.
“Observers have the right not only to be present during the vote count but also to have a real opportunity to watch the counting process,” Ms. Jarmoshyna said. “That is why the chairperson of the commission has no right to ignore such a request. He should show observers where they can be positioned to observe the vote count.”
Antonio Milososki, the head of the observation mission of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), told on Monday that representatives of the central election commission had assured the mission that its members would be given a “substantial and real opportunity” to monitor the vote count.
Comments