The “house of representatives” has introduced fines for opinion polls on “elections” and “referendums”.
It is said in the law “On amendments to the Code of Administrative Offences and the Administrative Procedure Code of Belarus”.
MPs voted to add article 9.28 to the Code:
“Carrying out surveys and publishing results of the opinion polls on the social and political situation in the country, national referendums, presidential elections, elections to the National Assembly of Belarus without the relative accreditation shall be punished with a fine of up to 20 penalty units or up to 100 penalty units for a legal entity.
The same action committed for a second time during a year since the imposition of administrative sanctions for the same offence shall be punished by a fine of from 10 to 50 penalty units, or from 20 to 200 penalty units for a legal entity.”
Human rights activist Uladzimir Labkovich says the new article in the Administrative Code means that the authorities are concerned about the current approval rating.
“We didn't have this article before. It's clear that the authorities begin to prepare for the 2015 presidential campaign. The law shows what they are really afraid of – the truth about their real popularity,” he said in an interview with charter97.org.
Many experts already said that independent opinion polls were impossible in Belarus. Sociologists agree with this view doubting the possibility of carrying out public opinion surveys in countries with a high level of fear. Many respondents fear to answer questions about the political situation in the country.
Commentator Aliaksandr Krasnapeutsau
It is said in the law “On amendments to the Code of Administrative Offences and the Administrative Procedure Code of Belarus”.
MPs voted to add article 9.28 to the Code:
“Carrying out surveys and publishing results of the opinion polls on the social and political situation in the country, national referendums, presidential elections, elections to the National Assembly of Belarus without the relative accreditation shall be punished with a fine of up to 20 penalty units or up to 100 penalty units for a legal entity.
The same action committed for a second time during a year since the imposition of administrative sanctions for the same offence shall be punished by a fine of from 10 to 50 penalty units, or from 20 to 200 penalty units for a legal entity.”
Human rights activist Uladzimir Labkovich says the new article in the Administrative Code means that the authorities are concerned about the current approval rating.
“We didn't have this article before. It's clear that the authorities begin to prepare for the 2015 presidential campaign. The law shows what they are really afraid of – the truth about their real popularity,” he said in an interview with charter97.org.
Many experts already said that independent opinion polls were impossible in Belarus. Sociologists agree with this view doubting the possibility of carrying out public opinion surveys in countries with a high level of fear. Many respondents fear to answer questions about the political situation in the country.
Commentator Aliaksandr Krasnapeutsau
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