Who is going to participate in local elections as potential candidates?

For now more than 17,000 nomination groups have applied for elections for regional soviets.

Let us recall that the local elections are scheduled for March 23, while the deadline for nominating candidates is February 10. The nomination of potential candidates in the local elections began on January 12 and applications for the registration of their nomination groups were accepted until the evening of January 16.

Nomination groups are required to gather at least 150 signatures to secure ballot access for a candidate for the regional soviets and the Minsk City Soviet, at least 75 signatures for a candidate for district and city soviets and at least 20 signatures for a candidate for village soviets.

Several opposition politicians have announced their intention to run in March’s elections for the Minsk City Council.

Thus, Siarhei Kaliakin, chairman of the Belarusian Party of the Left (Fair World) and Deputy Chairmen Valery Uhnalou and Aliaksei Eliseeu are on the list of potential runners, Belsat learnt.

Siarhei Vazniak, a member of Tell the Truth civil campaign, said that he and another member of the organization, Tatsiana Karatkevich, would seek registration as candidates in the Minsk City Soviet elections, while its leader Uladzimir Niakliaeu would not participate in them.

Aliaksei Janukevich, chairman of the Belarusian People's Front and Deputy Chairman Aliaksandr Straltsou were going to run as members of their party but collecting signatures are also provided. Anatol Liabedzka, chairman of the United Civic Party and Deputy Chairman Leu Margolin were also going to participate in the race for deputies' seats. Ales Lahvinets, deputy chairman of movement For Freedom, said that he had already applied for the registration of a nomination group that would collect ballot-access signatures for him as a potential candidate. According to the politician, the movement’s chairman, Aliaksandr Milinkevich, will skip the elections.

However, as EuroBelarus Information Service has earlier reported, election officials have refused to register nomination groups that would collect ballot-access signatures for Anatol Liabedzka, Aliaksei Janukevich and Ales Lahvinets; but the politicians are expected to seek access to the ballot as the UCP’s nominee.

For now over 16,000 applications for the registration of nomination groups have been filed with election commissions for the forthcoming local elections, Mikalai Lazavik, secretary of the central election commission, told BelaPAN. Voters in 18,816 electoral districts are to elect 1,328 local soviets between March 18 and March 23.

As always, the largest number of applications per electoral district, 3.9, were filed by potential candidates for seats in the Minsk City Soviet, Mr. Lazavik said, adding that 224 applications had been filed in the 57 electoral districts for the Minsk City Soviet elections.

As many as 485 applications were filed in the 355 electoral districts for elections for regional soviets; and 522 applications were submitted in the 368 electoral districts for elections for the soviets of cities of regional subordination, Mr. Lazavik said. The ratio of applications per electoral district was thus 1.4 in both cases, he said.

According to Mr. Lazavik, the ratio was less than one for elections for all other soviets. In particular, 3,022 applications were submitted in the 3,913 electoral districts for elections for district soviets; 191 applications were submitted in the 248 electoral districts for elections for the soviets of cities of district subordination; 151 applications were submitted in the 273 electoral districts for elections for the soviets of urban villages; and 11,465 applications were submitted in the 13,602 electoral districts for elections for village soviets, Mr. Lazavik said.

Citizens without party affiliation and members of political parties accounted for 15,757 and 303 of the applications, respectively, he said.