19 refusals to register Christian Democrats in Belarus
The Ministry Justice of Belarus refused to register the “Belarusian Christian Democracy” Party for the fifth time. This decision was stated in the reply signed by the head of department for non-profit organizations, which the BCD leaders received on 19 August 2015.
We remind that in early August the founders of the BCD were summoned to the prosecutor’s office and the executive committee in the towns of Klichau and Verkhniadzvinsk, where they were forced by intimidation to call back their signatures. It is worth to note that the Ministry of Justice could not in time inform the BCD about the results of state registration.
Among the reasons for non-registration indicated by the Ministry of Justice were the fact that two founders denied their signatures and minor errors that cannot call into question the registration of a political party. Even not counting those signatures the list of founders of the BCD contains more than 1,000 people required for state registration. There are no complaints from the Justice Ministry to the documents, which were presented by the Belarusian Christian Democracy.
The BCD Party was denied registration for the fifth time – if we take into account applications for registration of public associations of Christian Democrats, the number of refusals reaches nineteen. This is a clear sign that the basic norms of democracy are ignored in Belarus. The current “elections” are only a cover for authoritarianism and lawlessness in all spheres of life, not only political, but also economic and social.
The BCD organizing committee considers the refusal of registration as unlawful and will appeal against the decision of the Ministry of Justice to the Supreme Court. We well know that there are no free and independent courts in Belarus. But we are convinced that Christian Democracy Party will be registered in Belarus after the rapid fall of the authoritarian regime.
