Minister: Re-registration of political parties will start soon

MINSK, 3 February (BelTA) – The re-registration of political parties will begin in the near future, Belarus' Justice Minister Sergei Khomenko told journalists answering journalists' questions prior to an expanded meeting of the collegium of the Department for Archives and Records Management of the Justice Ministry, BelTA has learned.

“I think this will happen very soon,” Sergei Khomenko said answering a question about the start of re-registration of political parties.

The minister recalled that recently the senators at the tenth session of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the seventh convocation approved the bill “On amending the laws on the activities of political parties and other public associations”. The project will be sent to the head of state.

The bill regulating the work of political parties and public associations provides for an increase in the minimum number of members for a political party to be registered. It introduces the requirement for political parties to set up offices in each region and in Minsk.

The bill proposes to lift the ban on financing political parties from the central budget or local budgets. At the same time, funding from foreign sources will be prohibited, as this may affect domestic political processes.

The bills seeks to introduce tougher requirements to founders of political parties. A governing body of a political party shall be elected at least once in five years.

In line with the bill, a political party can be disbanded in the event of war propaganda, terrorist, extremist and other activities prohibited by law, activities that harm state and (or) public interests, as well as the receipt of funds and other property from foreign sources.