28 August 2008
Mikalay Statkevich denied registration as parliamentary candidate

Opposition politician Mikalay Statkevich has been denied registration as candidate in September`s parliamentary elections.

The election commission in Minsk`s number 106 district cited the politician`s conviction and rejected as fake part of signatures that were collected by his nomination group.

Mr. Statkevich was sentenced to three years of restricted freedom in May 2005 for staging a series of unauthorized demonstrations in central Minsk in the fall of 2004 against the official results of the 2004 parliamentary elections and national referendum, which are widely believed to have been rigged. The sentence was reduced by one year under an amnesty law and in May 2007.

Mr. Statkevich was granted a release on parole, but he is still deemed to have the conviction.

The politican told BelaPAN that he had not hoped for the registration. "I was curious to know whether the constitution or the Electoral Code would be regarded as more important. Under the code, I should not be given the registration. But the constitution specifies only two denial grounds – imprisonment and court-declared illegal competence," he said.

He said that he was set to appeal against the registration denial to the central election commission and then to the Supreme Court.

"It is important to find out whether the constitution or the law, which can be changed at the whim of one person, is more important in the country," Mr. Statkevich said.