Presidential elections in Belarus planned for early 2011
97- 20.10.2009, 15:37
This decision has been taken today at a meeting between Lukashenka and head of the Central Election Commission Yarmoshyna.
The presidential elections in Belarus are schedule for the beginning of 2011, while elections to local councils are to take place in April 2010, Interfax-Zapad learnt from the press service of the Belarusian ruler following the results of the meeting between Alyaksandr Lukashenka and chairwoman of the Central Election Commission Lidziya Yarmoshyna.
As Yarmoshyna said after the meeting, Lukashenka’s term expires in early 2011, so the presidential elections should be held by February 7, 2011. The elections to local councils must be carried out by December 13, 2010, the CEC head said.
“Alyaksandr Lukashenka thinks the presidential elections shouldn’t be combined with another electoral campaign in order not to devalue its essence,” Yarmoshyna noted.
According to her, “the head of state said these electoral campaigns should be carried out independently”. “The presidential elections will be held on the time established by the Constitution, two months before the term expires. So, the presidential elections will be held in early 2011, as the Constitution and the electoral legislation defines, and the elections to local councils will be conducted earlier,” the CEC head said.
“The local council members won’t work for the last six months of the term, because the electoral campaigns should take much time,” she noted.
Yarmoshyna said the elections to the local councils will be held in the second half of spring 2010, presumably in April. According to her, as the electoral campaign takes three months, so an electoral campaign to local councils will launch in January 2010. “We are on the verge of a major political season that will affect all aspects of the country’s life,” the CEC chairwomen said.
We remind that all electoral campaigns in Belarus since 1996 are recognized unfree and unfair by the international community. Thus, Lukashenka can’t be considered a legitimate president of Belarus since 1999. Nevertheless, he gained the right to be elected as many times as he wants as a result of the referendum 2004. The CEC head Yarmoshyna was banned entry to the EU and the US for rigging elections and referendums results.
