Belarus parliament elections

Ambassador: Belarus' new parliament needs to combine experience, new ideas

MOSCOW, 17 November (BelTA) – Belarus’ Ambassador to Russia Vladimir Semashko and his wife were the first to cast their ballots as the polling station for the elections to the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus opened at the Business and Cultural Center of the Belarusian diplomatic representation in Moscow at 8h00 on 17 November, BelTA has learned.

Commenting on his choice, the ambassador expressed hope that the new parliament would combine experience and new ideas. “The new parliament should become a fusion of people who have already worked in it and those who will come up with new ideas and initiatives,” said Vladimir Semashko.

He stressed that the parliamentary elections are always a serious and important event for the Belarusian state. “We can state that the outgoing parliament has developed a legislative basis for Belarus, and our state has made great progress in the political, economic and social areas. This legislative framework has also become the basis for Belarus' entry into integration associations and creation of new unions,” the ambassador said.

According to the diplomat, the elections are held in a calm atmosphere and in line with the country’s Election Code. “As for the polling station in Moscow, everything is going well here, too,” he said. More than 20% of the registered voters turned up for the early voting at the Moscow polling station. “This proves that the parliamentary elections are an important event for citizens,” Vladimir Semashko said.

Apart from Moscow, voting in Russia is also taking place in St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad. The voter registers at the polling stations in Russia include the names of Belarusian citizens permanently residing in Russia. Belarusian citizens who are temporarily present in Russia on the election day can also vote there. Their names are added to the lists on the basis of their identity documents.

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