New Electoral Code to come into force in Belarus in H2 2023

MINSK, 14 December (BelTA) - The updated Electoral Code of Belarus will take effect in the second half of 2023, Deputy Chairman of the Standing Committee on State Construction, Local Self-Government and Rules of Procedure of the House of Representatives Viktor Svillo told the media on 14 December, BelTA has learned.

The bill “On Amendments to the Electoral Code of the Republic of Belarus passed the first reading at the sitting of the ninth session of the House of Representatives of the seventh convocation on 14 December 2022.

“On Monday the Standing Committee on State Construction, Local Self-Government and Rules of Procedure met to consider the bill “On Amendments to the Electoral Code of the Republic of Belarus”. This bill was submitted by the president. I would like to point out that it is number two in the plan of measures to bring the country's laws in line with the amendments to the Constitution, which proves the importance and priority of the document. The Committee has considered the bill comprehensively and decided to give it the first reading at the next meeting of the ninth session,” said Viktor Svillo.

According to him, the bill is comprehensive. “The biggest part of the innovations, if we talk about its physical volume, concerns a new type of voting to elect delegates to the Belarusian People's Congress, due to changes in the Constitution. All of the regulatory provisions will be placed in a new section that will govern election procedures. It will include two chapters. The first one will regulate the election of delegates from the local councils of deputies, and the second one will regulate the election of delegates from civil society,” the MP said. “A single day of voting is a second point I would like to mention. First of all, the system of election commissions has changed, and the procedure for electing members of the Council of the Republic has also been altered.”

“A huge amount of work has been done. Now we have to immediately start preparing the draft law for the second reading, because the new Electoral Code is set to take effect in the second half of 2023,” Victor Svillo added.