Lukashenko to announce parliamentary election day before 18 June

MINSK, 8 June (BelTA) – President of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko will decide on the parliamentary election day before 18 June. The date and preparation for the election were discussed at a meeting between Alexander Lukashenko and Chairperson of the Central Election Commission (CEC) of Belarus Lidia Yermoshina on 8 June, BelTA learnt from the press service of the Belarusian head of state. Several proposals on the period of the election campaign and the parliamentary election date were presented to the head of state. Lidia Yermoshina noted that in line with the law, the election to the House of Representatives of the National Assembly should be held on 23 September or earlier, while the election to the Council of the Republic should be conducted before 30 September. If members of the House of Representatives are elected in the first round of voting all over the country, members of the Council of the Republic are elected by local councils of deputies in the oblasts, therefore, this election may be held on different days. In the near future the President will receive draft decrees on calling the election. The start of the election campaign will be marked by a meeting featuring local authorities and representatives of government agencies involved in the election campaign. Alexander Lukashenko reminded that he had already voiced his stance on the forthcoming election in his State of the Nation Address. He emphasized that the election should be open, free and competitive. “I still believe that we should not change anything just to make someone else happy. You saw by the example of the previous similar events that our efforts were not appreciated. And we do not need this “appreciation”. We need to rely on our own laws and the constitution. We conduct parliamentary elections and other elections for ourselves, our state, so the people should choose MPs in an open and competitive election,” the President said. According to Lidia Yermoshina, the electoral law will not be amended in the run-up to the parliamentary election, because Belarus has no time for that and because it runs contrary to the OSCE recommendations – the OSCE does not recommend to reform electoral laws during a year before an election campaign. “In January 2010 amendments were introduced to the electoral laws to make elections more democratic. The whole procedure was conducted in line with the OSCE recommendations,” the CEC Chairperson said. Lidia Yermoshina stated that the law enforcement practice was significantly improved. The Central Election Commission prepared guidelines for district and precinct election commissions on the implementation of the electoral law. Various resolutions were adopted to regulate the nomination of candidates to the parliament and to the election commissions. Alexander Lukashenko and Lidia Yermoshina also discussed the financing of the election campaign. Two full-blown rounds of voting will cost Br93 billon. The first round will cost Br76 billion. This year the candidates will be able to take part in debates on TV and radio.

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