Election amendments

It will become more difficult for the Belarusian opposition to communicate with the masses

During the autumn session, the Belarusian parliament plans to consider amendments to the electoral legislation, which can be tested in January 2007 during elections to local councils. “We are preparing two options for holding local elections - one based on the old law, the other on the basis of the new one,” Lidiya Ermoshina, chairwoman of the Belarusian Central Election Commission, told Vremya Novostei. According to her, the electoral legislation will be brought into line with the results of the 2004 referendum, which removed the constitutional restriction that did not allow one person to hold the presidency for more than two consecutive terms. This constitutional change allowed Alexander Lukashenko to win the presidential election in March of this year.

According to Ms. Ermoshina, the Central Election Commission has made several more proposals to the legislation “for more successful conduct of election campaigns.” The most noticeable changes concern local elections, which will be held not in two, but in one round. “If the deputies agree to this amendment, we will be able to make the elections cheaper,” says the chairman of the Central Election Commission. According to her, there are no plans to reduce the number of rounds in the parliamentary and presidential elections.

Lydia Yermoshina told VN that “the holding of election meetings in public places will be regulated. If such meetings are held outside closed premises, they will need to obtain the consent of local executive committees.” During this year's presidential elections, the opposition already faced problems with renting premises and was forced to meet with voters in the open air. If the amendments are adopted, the opposition will have to go through a lengthy procedure to obtain permission for pre-election meetings with voters.

“The authorities are afraid of the penetration of undesirable elements into local councils and are trying to limit the possibilities of democratic forces. Amendments to the legislation are a reaction to our initiatives,” leader of the united opposition Alexander Milinkevich told VN. He plans to become a confidant of many candidates for local councils in order to be able to hold meetings with voters. Opponents of Alexander Lukashenko do not hope to receive a large number of parliamentary mandates, but they intend to use the election campaign to promote their ideas.

The opposition reacted calmly to the proposed restrictions on holding meetings with citizens. “I’ll tell you honestly, we don’t care at all. We have the intention to use the election campaign to solve our problems, and the government’s lawmaking will not affect the implementation of our plans,” Anatoly Lebedko, leader of the United Civil Party, told VN.

Anna NAUMOVA, Olga TOMASHEVSKAYA, Minsk