Opinions & Interviews

No plans to amend Belarusian election legislation for now

Lidia Yermoshina. An archive photo

MINSK, 22 February (BelTA) – There are no plans to amend election legislation in Belarus for now. Chairwoman of the Central Election Commission (CEC) of Belarus Lidia Yermoshina made the statement during an Internet video briefing hosted by the website of the National Press Center, BelTA has learned.

Lidia Yermoshina said that the Central Election Commission and a group of experts had analyzed proposals concerning Belarus’ election legislation, which were put forward by the OSCE after the latest elections. These novelties were supposed to be discussed at the level of the head of state. But since the general public believes that the Constitution will have to be amended, it has been decided that election legislation will be left as it is for now, the official noted. “The matter has been put aside,” Lidia Yermoshina said.

“Nevertheless, we use as recommendations the proposals European experts submit. Some of them have already been implemented. For instance, if there is competition among representatives of political parties and public associations for seats on an election commission, we arrange preferential voting. In other words, the seats are filled on a competitive basis,” the official noted. Apart from that, pre-election campaigning rules have been relaxed in Belarus. The number of complaints submitted by candidates and their authorized representatives has dropped considerably as a result.

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