MINSK, 11 January (BelTA) – At the ongoing local elections in Belarus the competition for seats at oblast councils makes an average of 2.4 candidates per seat in a constituency, Chairperson of the Central Election Commission (CEC) Lidia Yermoshina said in an interview with the First National Channel of the Belarusian Radio on 10 January.
According to Lidia Yermoshina, the local elections are a complex campaign from the technical point of view. A large bulk of data needs to be gathered on sites, due to which the exact number of candidates across Belarus is unknown for today. As for date, information is available only on the number of candidates in oblast councils and Minsk. “If we compare the current electoral campaign with the elections held four years ago, we will see that there are more candidates in regions this time. On average there are 2.4 candidates per one constituency in oblast councils and more than six people will compete for a seat in Minsk City Hall,” the CEC head said.
In her words, among those running for a seat in the local councils of deputies are individual entrepreneurs, handicrafters, and heads of homeowners association. There are also unemployed. The education, cultural and healthcare sectors are the most active during the current election campaign.
The registration of candidates to the local councils of the 28th convocation is underway in Belarus. This stage of the election campaign will last through 18 January. According to the CEC chairperson, the registration means submitting income and property declarations by candidates to the local councils of deputies. Income declarations of the registered candidates will be disclosed to the voters, Lidia Yermoshina said.
The registration will be followed by the pre-election campaigning which will run through 17 February, inclusively.
The elections are scheduled for 18 February. More than 18,000 members of the local councils are expected to be elected.
A total of 22,700 members of the local councils were nominated at the previous elections in 2014.
