On October 4, the deputies of the House of Representatives passed the bill “On Amending the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus,” which, among other things, cancels local elections in 2022.
On May 27, Alyaksandr Lukashenka submitted a draft law, “On Amending the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus,” to the House of Representatives. On June 25, the House of Representatives adopted the bill in the first reading and approved by the Council of the Republic.
The document, in particular, introduces a single voting day and postpones local elections, which should have been held no later than January 18, 2022, by combining them with parliamentary elections. According to the CEC schedule, the latter must be carried no later than November 5, 2023.
Thus, the powers of the incumbent deputies of local councils can be extended for more than 18 months.
According to Chairman of the House of Representatives, Uladzimir Andreichanka, the cancellation of the elections within the next two years “is supported by the Belarusian society and meets its needs, BelTA reports.
In line with the Electoral Code, the elections to local councils of deputies of a new convocation are appointed by the president no later than four months and held no later than 30 days before the termination of local councils’ powers the current convocation. Thus, according to the law, local elections must be scheduled for October 2021. The authorities have less than a month to reschedule them.
belsat.eu
