Campaigning for Election Boycott Should Be Prohibited, Jarmoshyna Says
Campaigning for an election boycott should not be confused with electioneering and governed by the Electoral Code, Lidzija Jarmoshyna, the Chairperson of the Central Election Commission, told reporters in Minsk on Friday.
Such campaigning should not be prohibited, but candidates should not be allowed to use public funds to promote an election boycott or hold campaign events without applying for permission to local authorities if those events are used to call on voters to stay away from the polls, Ms. Jarmoshyna said.
Dozens of television addresses by candidates in the September 18-23 House of Representatives elections were not broadcast because they contained calls for boycotting the poll. The central election commission announced at the end of August that such addresses would not be allowed on air.