Authorities Set to Muffle Opposition Voices During Election Campaign

The upcoming parliamentary elections have not attracted as much attention in Belarus as elections at such level normally do in most countries. Perhaps, it will be more exciting when campaigns kick off. Observers say the authorities are likely to restrict candidates’ opportunities to reach out.

The Belarusian media view the House of Representatives elections as a political ritual with a predetermined outcome, not as an important event worth highlighting, Alies Ancipienka, the head of the monitoring group of the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ), told reporters in Minsk on August 21.

Between July 31 and August 17, the group monitored the coverage of the elections by 17 electronic and print media outlets. The period covered important stages of the election such as the formation of election commissions and the nomination of parliamentary contenders.

According to Ancipienka, the government-controlled media covered the election campaign during the period under review “in a traditional manner, that is, they paid less attention to the elections than to the weather and sports.”

The central election commission was the main focus of the government-controlled media, while opposition political parties received very little coverage, Ancipienka said. “They were cast in a negative or extremely negative light if mentioned at all,” he noted.

The authorities and observers from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) received favorable coverage, while opposition forces and Western observers were cast in a negative light.

According to him, independent media outlets covered the elections in a more balanced way and did not limit themselves to government sources. “However, given the space earmarked by the independent press for the elections, this subject has not yet become a priority for them either,” he said.

The election is expected to receive more coverage when candidates launch their campaigns.

All candidates are eligible for free television and radio spots that will be broadcast between August 27 and September 14.

The pre-recorded five-minute addresses are to be broadcast every day from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. on TV and from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. on radio. The candidates running in the same electoral district will have their addresses broadcast on the same day. The broadcasters are to announce the schedule of appearances beforehand.

Television addresses by candidates in the city of Minsk are to be broadcast by Belarus–2 channel of the Belarusian State Television and Radio Company, those by candidates in the Minsk region by STV channel, and those by other candidates by the respective regional TV networks.

Radio addresses by candidates in the city of Minsk and the Minsk region are to be broadcast by Stalica radio station and those by other candidates by the respective regional radio networks.

Lidzija Jarmoshyna, the Chairperson of the central election commission, told reporters on Friday that candidates’ appearances would not be broadcast live. “Our directive adopted on July 5 clearly says that candidates’ campaign addresses on both radio and television shall be pre-recorded. This rule also applies to debates between candidates.”

During their 2010 presidential campaigns opposition candidates used live debates to attack the government and Aliaksandr Lukashenka.

Candidates will be allowed to use up to $12,000 out of their campaign funds for print material.

Many candidates have declared their intention to withdraw from the race before early voting over what they called unfair and discriminatory treatment by the authorities. They originally intended to fully use campaign opportunities to reach out, but the authorities are likely to restrict their efforts.

Pauliuk Bykouski, a journalist with the Bielarusy i Rynak weekly, says that campaign funds, which will be allowed for the first time during a parliamentary election, may give an edge to pro-government contenders. They are likely to be given preferential treatment by government-controlled media. For instance, during the 2010 presidential race, authorities closed down Autaradyjo, a private radio station, for airing commercials in support of opposition candidates.

He predicts that opposition candidates are likely to have their pre-recorded speeches edited by censors. In the previous election campaigns “censors always removed something from candidates’ addresses but no one was held responsible for it,” he recalls.

Officials have made it clear they would seek to muffle criticism as much as possible to prevent opponents from fully using government-approved campaign opportunities.

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