18 December 2002
Organizations in Brest question reputation of local

 The Belarusian Social Democratic Party "Narodnaya Hramada" and Belarusian Helsinki Committee (BHC) in Brest have questioned the reputation of the deputy head of the regional commission for next spring's local election.
The organizations say that Konstantin Bobko actively campaigned for incumbent Aleksandr Lukashenko when he was deputy head of the regional election commission during last year's presidential election. His pro-Lukashenko bias was covered by the local press, documented by Narodnaya Hramada observers and reported to the regional prosecutor and the central election commission.
"We appeal to the governmental agencies, political parties and non-governmental organizations to do their best to ensure free and democratic elections for local soviets," says the statement. Anatoly Levkovich, regional leader of Narodnaya Hramada, told BelaPAN his party will file protests with the regional and central election commissions.