The signature verification algorithm is clearly set out in the Electoral Code and is the same for everyone – Dmitry Khoma
Dmitry Khoma provided statistics for the Vitebsk region. Thus, in support of Viktor Babariko's nomination, 23,952 signatures were submitted, of which 11,495 were recognized as valid; for Andrey Dmitriev - 11,523 (10,730); for Anna Kanopatskaya - 7,931 (7,650); for Alexander Lukashenko - 217,367 (215,840). Svetlana Tikhanovskaya submitted 10,976 signatures, of which 10,726 were recognized as valid after verification; for Valery Tsepkalo - 7,574 (3,620); for Sergey Cherechen - 20,063 (18,734).
The chairman of the regional commission explained how signatures are verified. The algorithm is described in the Electoral Code, in particular in Article 61. At the first stage, signatures that are not subject to accounting and verification are identified. For example, those collected in one district from people living in another are rejected.
The commission determines the work procedure: which signature sheets will be checked, even or odd, how many signatures will be subject to verification, etc. Dmitry Khoma noted that this procedure is the same for all contenders. Thus, for the first verification, at least 20% of the signatures are selected from each, regardless of how many were submitted by the initiative groups.
Different methods are used. "Requests can be sent to various organizations, primarily to citizenship and migration departments, cash settlement centers, to verify data. Sometimes personal calls are used. This is a complex and meticulous job," noted Dmitry Khoma. If more than 15% of such a defect is found as a result, a second check is appointed. For this, another 15% of the "autographs" are taken. If more than 15% of them are also recognized as invalid, then all signatures submitted for this candidate to the commission are recognized as invalid and not counted.
Dmitry Khoma explained how it works using a mathematical example: "1,000 signatures were submitted, 200 of them were selected for verification. As a result, 30 turned out to be unreliable. Then another 150 are taken for verification. If 23 of them are found to be unreliable, then the entire thousand is not counted. If you sum up 23 and 30, divide by 350, and multiply by 100%, you get more than 15%."
According to the chairman of the Vitebsk Regional Commission, a second check had to be carried out for three candidates. At the same time, one of the participants in the election race had 14.86% of unreliable signatures after the first check. A repeat check was not assigned. Signatures were not counted if the commission could not identify the voter, or if their passport data did not match. "Somewhere there were deceased people on the list, somewhere part of the entries were made by one person," the interlocutor added.