Central Election Commission approves election campaign calendar

16 ноября 2017

Yesterday, the Central Election Commission approved the exact calendar plan for the electoral campaign. On 18 February 2018, Belarus is to elect over 18,000 deputies of local councils.

The nomination of candidates for deputies will begin on 10 December and will last almost a month. Applicants for such a post need the support of a political party or work collective, or they can collect a certain number of signatures of the residents of their district. The biggest number of signatures, 150, needs to be collected by those wishing to become deputies of Minsk City Council or regional councils.

Registration of candidates for deputies of local councils will be held from 9—18 January, followed by election campaigning. Election campaigns will be monitored mainly by national observers. There is no practice of inviting foreign experts to local elections. However, the Central Election Commission is ready to open doors for foreign diplomats if they are interested.

A deputy of a local council must be a citizen of Belarus who has reached the age of 18 and has no criminal record. The powers of such politicians are quite extensive. They approve programs for the development of their districts and budgets. They can establish local taxes and fees, as well as dispose of communal property. Citizens of Russia can also run for local councils in Belarus provided they have a residence permit in Belarus.