Not to vote — get punished. Debunking Belarus's Minister of Information claim about the elections in Germany

EU and U.S. representatives said on February 26 that they consider sham parliamentary and local elections and do not recognize the results. They noted that the voting was conducted in the face of brutal repression and human rights violations.

Four days later, the Minister of Information of Belarus Vladimir Pertsov told on the “Belarus 1” TV channel, the program “Club of Editors”, what is happening with elections and human rights in Germany. 

“I just remembered that in Germany, a person who takes part in elections receives a stamp in his passport. If you do not have a mark in your passport that you participated in the elections, you are not entitled to receive government services,” he said. 

WTF journalists questioned the federal election commissioner whether German voters are marked in their passports and what awaits Germans who do not vote. Here are the answers:

“Voting in the Federal Republic of Germany is not compulsory. All eligible voters can decide for themselves whether they want to vote or not. Freedom to vote is protected in Germany. The events you describe we consider misinformation that has to be uncovered.”

Here is the BIC-covered story about the background of the 2024 Belarus elections  — “Guns to replace the media and the opposition: 9 facts about the Single Voting Day in Belarus”.