BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

13/12/2006

Belarus Says New Russian Election Laws Hamper Union State

MOSCOW - Differences between Moscow and Minsk continued to grow Wednesday as the Belarusian election authorities complained about Moscow changing its election laws and thus hindering legal harmonization within a union state project.

The two neighbors have been in talks since 1997 over a Union State with a common economic, customs and political space, but the negotiations have been complicated by a host of issues, including energy disputes and a tug-of-war between the leaderships.

"So long as we rewrite laws and alter the legal structure inside each country, the gap between us will continue to widen, and that is great danger," Lidiya Yermoshina, head of Belarus' Election Commission, told a conference on the development of the Union State in Moscow.

Russia recently abolished the 20 percent threshold for voter turnout, canceled early voting and the "against all candidates" option on election ballots at all levels, but Yermoshina said her country was not ready to follow suit.

"Moreover, I know that some Russian politicians and public representatives are against such amendments," she said.

Yermoshina's counterpart in Russia, Alexander Veshnyakov, has indeed challenged some provisions in the bill, saying it is premature to abolish the turnout threshold.

"The prospective changes include some positive, indisputable proposals, but there are also objectionable provisions, which could be called premature," he said. "The decision to abolish the voter turnout threshold is among those I consider to be premature."

Both Belarus and Russia have drawn Western criticism for allegedly stifling democratic freedoms and pursuing authoritarian rule. The United States has even dubbed President Alexander Lukashenko "Europe's last dictator."

The Supreme State Council of the Union State will meet Friday to discuss the union's budget in Moscow.

Source:

http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/nation/16231716.htm