Belarus parliament elections

MINSK, 6 September (BelTA) - Early voting at the elections to the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus of the sixth convocation kicked off in Belarus on 6 September, BelTA has learned.

Voters who wish to vote early have time to do it from 10h00 to 19h00 with a break from 14h00 to 16h00 until 10 September inclusively.

Early voting will be held at the presence of at least two members of the district commission. Early voting is not allowed at the polling stations located at the place of residence of voters, in sanatoriums, holiday houses, hospitals and other medical establishments, for people in penitentiary institutions and activity therapy centers.

In order to receive a ballot paper a voter should present a passport, a driving license or other identification papers such as military service record card, a certificate of employment, a pension certificate or a student identity card if there is a photo in it, a certificate from the interior bodies for the citizens who have lost their passports, and also an ID for people with disabilities.

Early voting is also possible for Belarusian citizens staying abroad.

Voters fill in the ballot paper themselves by putting any sign next to the name of the candidate they are rooting for. If a voter votes against all the candidates, he/she puts a sign next to the phrase “None of the above”.

If a person is unable to vote due to poor health, he/she can entrust it to another person except for members of the election commissions, candidates and their proxies, observers and media representatives. Blind and visually impaired citizens will be provided with special tactile devices.

If a voter makes a mistake while voting, he/she needs to ask a member of the district commission for a new ballot paper.

Belarus uses a majoritarian electoral system. Elections are recognized as valid if the turnout makes up more than a half of votes cast in a constituency.

A candidate to the parliament is considered elected if he/she gets the biggest number of votes. If there is only one candidate in the ballot paper, he/she is recognized elected if he/she gets the support from more than a half of the voters.

6,990.696 people are eligible to vote at this year’s parliamentary elections in Belarus. The elections to the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus will take place on 11 September.