MINSK, Oct 20 (BelTA) — At the assembly organized by Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko, the main inventions proposed for the electoral law were discussed, Belarus Central Election Commission Chairman Igor Karpenko said after the assembly, BelTA reported.
According to Igor Karpenko, the conceptual changes to the electoral law were supported by the president. “It is transparent that the cadre of deputies will still have work to do. The deputies engaged in the preparation of the draft law on amendments and additions to the Electoral Code of the Republic of Belarus. Well, I think that in combination with MEPs, we will organise meetings on the floor of the competent committees and a number of platforms for dialogue. Although in one position we have made a component of it. . Today I have the task of holding discussions with representatives of public bodies and political components. We are in a position to paint in that sense,” he said.
Igor Karpenko described 3 main spaces in which the electoral law will be perfected.
First, the Electoral Code is brought into line with the amendments to the Constitution, which include a provision on the right to vote in elections for citizens who are in pretrial detention and have not yet been convicted.
The updated code will also reflect a number of new needs for presidential candidates and parliamentarians.
The current set of amendments to the Electoral Code relates to legislative inventions in the process of being followed up or already formalized in legislative acts. This applies specifically to political parties, civil society and the People’s Congress of Belarus.
The third main set of adjustments arises from the investigation of electoral processes in Belarus and abroad, adding the foreign treaties to which Belarus has adhered.
Igor Karpenko shared some main points in this regard: “Since we will have a day of solitary voting to elect the members of the House of Representatives, the members of the Council of the Republic, all local councils, especially on February 25, 2024, we will want to create safe legal criteria for quality paintings of electoral commissions. For example, with regard to local council elections, we have a minimum requirement for electoral participation. Whereas in terms of parliamentary elections, there is such a requirement [more than part of the electorate registered to vote in an electoral district]. We have proposed removing that legal responsibility for participation, equalizing the mandates of all those elections to facilitate the cadres of the electoral commissions and the entities that organize all these activities.
Another innovation considers the accreditation procedure for practitioners. Now, an intern can apply for accreditation on election day. “We propose that this be done before early voting starts. Otherwise, election commissions face an uneven burden. Before voting starts, no one visits them, no one asks for accreditation. As soon as voting starts, other people they start arriving to request to sign them, to accredit them as practitioners. That’s not fair. If you are designated through an organization, citizens, a collective in march to practice elections or a referendum, it means that you have to take care of those things in advance Karpenko said.
He announced that next week, the CEC plans to hold an assembly to discuss the proposed innovations.