MINSK, 10 September (BelTA) – As of 9 September, a total of 211 initiative groups were registered in Belarus to collect signatures in support of candidates to the Belarusian parliament, BelTA learned from the website of the Central Election Committee (CEC) of Belarus.
The biggest number of initiative groups has been registered in Minsk – 81. A total of 35 and 25 initiative groups have been registered in Minsk Oblast and Vitebsk Oblast respectively.
According to the CEC, 80.6% of potential candidates, whose initiative groups were registered, are non-party. Representatives of nine political parties will collect signatures of voters as well.
Out of 298 applications to register an initiative group, two were denied registration and one was withdrawn.
As BelTA reported earlier, nomination of candidates to the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus kicked off on 8 September and would last through 7 October.
Eligible voters who are 21 years old by election day, have no criminal record and have permanent residence in Belarus may stand for election. A candidate may be nominated through the collection of signatures, by a political party or a labor collective. The legislation provides for any combination of these means.
At least 1,000 supporting signatures are needed to be nominated through the collection of signatures. An initiative group must consist of at least ten people. Groups are registered in district election commissions. They have already been set up and started operation.
Another mean to be nominated is at meetings of political parties. There are 15 political parties in the country. They can nominate candidates across all 110 constituencies.
A labor collective may nominate one candidate in the constituency where the company is located. The company must employ at least 300 people.
Elections to the House of Representatives are slated for 17 November, while the elections to the Council of the Republic are scheduled for 7 November.
