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2010 26th convocation local councils of Republic of Belarus elections were held on 25 April.
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2010 26th convocation local councils of Republic of Belarus elections were held on 25 April.
Elections to rural, as well as district, urban and regional Councils of deputies were held in a single day 25 April under plurality vote.
Under legislation any citizen of age 18 and older, living or working on the territory of municipal unit or connected with it is entitled to participate in municipal elections as a candidate. [1]
According to preliminary information, 25 033 candidates are to participate in municipal elections, [2] at least 513 of whom are candidates nominated by parties. [3] In total, under some estimations, 700–800 candidates are to represent registered and unregistered opposition parties and movements. [4] At the same time, United Civic Party of Belarus in its summit on 21 March decided not to participate in the elections. [5] On 2 April representatives of "For free entrepreneurship development" movement gave up participation in the elections, [6] however candidates from "Entrepreneurs bloc" continued their participation in the elections, [7] as well as many young candidates, participating in the elections for the first time. [8] However, there was no mass boycott of the elections and even UCP candidates participated in the elections till the end, with only a few of them withdrawing their nominations [9] or were removed for electoral agitation rules violations. [10]
Average competition rate in Minsk City Council of Deputies was 3.9 candidates per seat, [11] while in regional councils – 1.8 candidates per seat. [12] On average there were 1.2 candidates per deputy seat. [2] Only 12 out of 40 electoral districts were alternative in Vitebsk City Council elections, [13] in Gomel Regional Council — 36 out of 60, [14] only in case of Minsk-city Council candidates nominated and participated, and there was no non-alternative district in Minsk. [15]
Only 0.1% of polling site commissions staff was formed of opposition representatives. [3]
On 20 April preliminary voting started; as of 23 April 15% of total number of voters had voted. [16] [17] Total turnover of the preliminary elections was 29,3 %. [18] At the same time, high numbers of preliminary voters provided by Central Electoral Committee are under doubt. [17] There are also many evidences of university students being forced to vote preliminary. [19] [20]
However, according to CEC representatives high turnover on preliminary elections is observed and explained due to «not only informational work, but also organizational stimulation for citizens, wishing to vote preliminary in the cities», also they stated such reasons as high discipline of Belarusians and elderly people's desire to «realize their right to vote in a fine weather». [21]
According to poll, conducted by Information and Analytics Center of President Administration of Republic of Belarus,
…for most of citizens the most appropriate is deputy candidate to Local Council aged 30–49, willing to help his region, working as manager or specialist of an enterprise or organization, representative of state authority and supporting current government [2]
| Region | Voted | % |
|---|---|---|
| Brest Region | 801 842 | 78,7 % |
| Vitebsk Region | 813 530 | 90,9 % |
| Gomel Region | 937 219 | 84,4 % |
| Grodno Region | 649 405 | 80,6 % |
| Mogilev Region | 719 960 | 85,7 % |
| Minsk Region | 903 346 | 81,7 % |
| Minsk | 735 116 | 58,7 % |
Out of 79 candidates of Belarusian Left Party "A Just World" 5 became local councils deputies, informed Valeriy Ukhnalev, deputy head of the party. (see source http://nashaniva.by/?c=ar&i=37802)
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| Parliamentary elections | |
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