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MINSK, 7 November (BelTA) – The collection of signatures to nominate candidates for the upcoming presidential election in Belarus has begun today, BelTA has learned.
Belarus’ Central Election Commission (CEC) has registered seven initiative groups for collecting signatures in support of nominating presidential candidates: the incumbent President of the Republic of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko, Chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party of Belarus Oleg Gaidukevich, Chairman of the Republican Labor and Justice Party Aleksandr Khizhnyak, Head of the Central Office for Ideological Work and Youth Affairs of the Minsk City Executive Committee Olga Chemodanova, the self-employed businesswoman Anna Kanopatskaya, Chairman of the republican council of the public association Belarusian Union of Officers Sergei Bobrikov, and First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Belarus Sergei Syrankov.
The collection of signatures to nominate the presidential candidates began on 7 November and will end on 6 December 2024. A registered initiative group has to collect at least 100,000 signatures. Signatures can be collected only by members of the initiative groups during pickets (in the locations that municipal administrative and executive bodies have not banned) and in locations where voters live or work (serve). Members of the initiative groups need to carry the relevant certificate and a personal identification document with a photo. The signature lists need to contain signatures of voters, who live in the territory of the relevant district, city, or city district. Voters need to write the date of their signature and their signature. Signature lists need to be authenticated by a member of the initiative group.
Signature collection disallows the administration of the relevant organization to participate in the signature collection process. Voters cannot be forced or remunerated for giving their signatures. Information materials about the presidential candidates cannot be handed out. A voter can leave a signature in support of several presidential candidates but only one signature in support of the same person.
Signature lists have to be submitted to the appropriate district commissions, city commissions (in regionally governed cities except for cities with districts), to city district commissions on 6 December 2024 at the latest. The signature lists will be verified over the course of ten days. If the percentage of invalid voter signatures exceeds 15% of the number of checked signatures (20% is selected initially), then the commission will have to verify another 15% signatures of the total number of signatures submitted to the appropriate commission. If the total number of invalid signatures exceeds 15% of the total number of checked signatures, all the voter signatures submitted to the appropriate territorial commission will be disregarded.
The Belarus president election is scheduled for 26 January 2025.
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