Elections in Belarus
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Elections in Belarus gives information on election and election results in Belarus.
Belarus elects on national level a head of state - the president - and a legislature. The president is elected for a five year term by the people. The National Assembly (Nacionalnoje Sabranie) has two chambers. The House of Representatives (Palata Predstaviteley) has 110 members elected in single-seat constituencies elected for a four year term. The Council of the Republic (Soviet Respubliki) has 64 members, 56 members indirectly elected and 8 members appointed by a head of state - the president. Belarus is a state in which the president dominates. Opposition parties are allowed, but are widely considered to have no real chance of gaining power. The 13-17 October 2004 elections, according to the OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission [link], fell significantly short of OSCE commitments. Universal principles and constitutionally guaranteed rights of expression, association and assembly were seriously challenged, calling into question the Belarusian authorities’ willingness to respect the concept of political competition on a basis of equal treatment. According to this mission principles of an inclusive democratic process, whereby citizens have the right to seek political office without discrimination, candidates to present their views without obstruction, and voters to learn about them and discuss them freely, were largely ignored.
Latest presidential and parliamentary elections
'''Summary of the official 19 March 2006 Belarus presidential Election results |- !style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=left valign=top|Candidates - Parties !style="background-color:#E9E9E9"|Votes !style="background-color:#E9E9E9"|% |- |align=left|Alexander Lukashenko | |82.6 |- |align=left|Alexander Milinkievič - United Democratic Forces of Belarus | |6.0 |- |align=left|Sergei Gaidukevich - Liberal Democratic Party of Belarus | |3.5 |- |align=left|Alaksandar Kazulin: Belarusian Social Democratic Party | |2.3|- |align=left style="background-color:#E9E9E9"|Total (turnout 92.6 %) |width="75" align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9"| |width="30" align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9"| |- |colspan=3 align=left|Source: |}
These elections fell according to the OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission [link] significantly short of OSCE commitments. Universal principles and constitutionally guaranteed rights of expression, association and assembly were seriously challenged, calling into question the Belarusian authorities’ willingness to respect the concept of political competition on a basis of equal treatment. According to this mission principles of an inclusive democratic process, whereby citizens have the right to seek political office without discrimination, candidates to present their views without obstruction, and voters to learn about them and discuss them freely, were largely ignored.See also
External links
- [Adam Carr's Election Archive]
- [Parties and Elections in Europe]
- [Belarusian Parliamentary Elections in the Internet, 2004]
- [Information gathered ahead of the 2006 presidential election in Belarus]
- [Presidential Elections in Belarus 2006, Belapan Daily News]
- [ePolitics 2006: Online Campaigning in 2006 Presidential Election in Belarus]
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