Aleksei Belyayev. An archive photo
MINSK, 19 January (BelTA) – On 25 February 2024, Belarusians will go to the polls on the single voting day to cast their ballot for people they wish to represent them at the House of Representatives of the National Assembly and at local councils. A total of 12,514 deputies are to be elected to local councils and 110 people will become members of the lower house of parliament. Dean of the Faculty of Journalism of Belarusian State University, political scientist Aleksei Belyayev explained why this form of elections is a good idea for Belarus.
“The single voting day is going to be Belarus’ first experience of this kind. This form of elections makes more economic sense than the forms used before. It is no secret that large amounts of public funds are spent on holding separate elections. In addition to that, Belarus will be able to save on election commissions and other organizational matters. And this is more convenient for voters,” he added.
The expert recalled that this form of elections has been used in Russia for many years. According to him, countries share their best electoral practices with each other. “Our Central Election Commission studied Russia’s experience in detail. But we must keep in mind that we are holding elections for ourselves. Belarus proceeds primarily from its own interests. This is our most important task – to form legitimate and fully functional government bodies at all levels,” Aleksei Belyayev remarked.
The dean of the Faculty of Journalism noted that the West presses on aggressively with its attempts to discredit the elections in Belarus and to present them as illegitimate. “There are those who are not interested in holding honest and fair elections in Belarus. It is already clear that the self-exiled opposition funded by Western grants will go out of their way to pick the elections apart and to question their outcomes. Fortunately, our voters already understand what it is all about, they know what sources of information can be trusted and what cannot. But the fact remains: information warfare has been declared against us and we should be prepared to push back against a smear campaign. I am sure that no hoaxes and attempts to denigrate us will affect voters’ sentiments and undermine their understanding of the importance of the elections,” the political scientist concluded.
