At stake
in this election:
- Seats in the Chamber
of Representatives: 110
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Description
of government structure:
- Chief of State:
President Aleksandr LUKASHENKO
- Head of Government:
Acting Prime Minister Vladimir ERMOSHIN
- Parliament: Belarus
has a bicameral Parliament (Natsionalnoye Sobranie) consisting
of the Council of the Republic with 64 seats and the Chamber of Representatives
with 110 seats.
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Description
of electoral system:
- The president is
elected by popular vote for a five-year term.
- In the Council
of the Republic, 56 members are indirectly elected by the deputies of
local councils and the remaining eight members are appointed by the
president. All members serve four-year terms. In the Chamber of Representatives,
all 110 members are elected by absolute majority vote to a four-year
term.
- *Note: The bicameral
Council of the Republic was formed in 1996, after President LUKASHENKO
dissolved the existing unicameral parliament. The Chamber of the Republics
was filled by appointed members of the former Supreme Soviet.
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Main parties in
the electoral races:
- Party: The
Belarusian Patriotic Party (BPR)
Leader: Anatoliy BARANKEVICH
- Party: Communist
Party of Belarus (KPB)
Leader: Viktor CHIKIN
- Party: The Agrarian
Party (APB)
Leader: Mikhail SHIMANSKY
- Party: Party
of Communist Belarusians
Leader: Sergei KALYAKIN
- Party: The Liberal
Democratic Party (LDPB)
Leader: Sergei GAYDUKEVICH
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When
was the last election? Number of seats in last election?
- This is the first
election to the Chamber of Representatives.
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Population
and number of registered voters:
- Population: 10,366,719 (July 2000 est.)
- Number of registered voters: 7,800,000 (1999 est.)
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Of Interest:
- Constitutional
amendments passed by referendum in 1996 extended President LUKASHENKO's
term until 2001 and dissolved the unicameral parliament to form a bicameral
National Assembly.
- The current National
Assembly is not recognized by the international community, which considers
the 13th Supreme Soviet to be the legitimate legislative body.
- The majority of
Belarusian opposition parties are boycotting these elections, although
several members of opposition parties are contesting the election as
independent candidates. The opposition has called for assuranced from
President LUKASHENKO that the elections will be fair.
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| SOURCE: INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATION FOR ELECTION SYSTEMS (IFES) |
| For additional information:
IFES ElectionGuide Online |
