Pokrovsky electoral commission banned candidates, observers and journalists to attend meeting

In Pokrovsk (Donetsk region), the district election commission #50 denied the right to attend a meeting to a number of subjects of the election, and to the journalists. The relevant resolution was adopted by the commission on July 23, as to OPORA website. At the moment, no one has been removed from the premises where the election documentation is received, because the members of the commission are expecting for consultations with the Central Election Commission. The district election commission, as stated in the resolution, deprived representatives of the candidates, deputies, authorized persons of parties, official observers from political parties, candidates and public organizations, as well as representatives of mass media which had no Central election commission accreditation of the right to attend its meetings. The commission justified such a decision by pressure on its members, eventual threats to its members, and in attempt to prevent disruption of the election. In accordance with part 3 of Article 34 of the Law "On Elections of People's Deputies of Ukraine", at a meeting of the district election commission, any candidates for parliamentary election, their agents, authorized representatives of the parties, official observers from the parties, observers from the parties, candidates, NGOs (no more than one person from one subject) and representatives of mass media (no more than two from one media) have right to attend the meeting of the election commissions without any permission or invitation. "One could rule the aforementioned persons ineligible to attend the meetings, in case when they illegally impede the holding of a meeting of the election commission. ... Such a decision can only be made with regard to some precise persons who have hampered the work of the commission, and not generally limit the right to attend the meeting for all entities that are vested with this right. Given, that in the motivation part of the resolution there is no information on how the interference was taking place and who did it, and that the sanction which is foreseen in the decision of the election commission was not individually directed - there are reasonable doubts as to the lawfulness of the said resolution ", as the OPORI monitoring co-ordinator Anastasia Prokopenko during the elections in the Donetsk region, said.