CEC Chairman: four possible dates determined for Belarus’ presidential elections, House of Representatives to make final decision
Four possible dates have been determined for the 2025 presidential elections in Belarus, and the final decision will be made by the House of Representatives of the National Assembly – as informed by the Chairman of the Central Election Commission, Igor Karpenko, after today’s meeting with the President on current domestic political issues and preparation for the political campaigns
“As the President stressed, the main thing is that the 2025 political campaign, the upcoming presidential elections are the final stage of the large-scale political modernisation that was launched in the country as a result of amendments and additions to the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus,” Mr. Karpenko said. He noted that, in line with that process, the elections to Parliament, deputies of local councils, and delegates of the Belarusian People's Congress (which has already begun to work as a constitutional body) were held, “Naturally, we are entering the finish line: the holding of presidential elections in 2025.”
Mr. Karpenko noted that, in accordance with the legislation, the upcoming elections should be held no later than July 20th. Speaking about a specific date, he stressed, “Realising that the deputies – in particular, the House of Representatives of the National Assembly – make this decision, we will hold a number of consultations with our MPs after the session opening on September 17th. I can tell you openly: four possible dates for holding the presidential elections have been determined, but consultations are needed before we announce them. It is clear that the decision will be made by the House of Representatives at its session.”
At the same time, according to Mr. Karpenko, the Central Election Commission is ready to hold elections on any of these four dates. “We have already prepared the relevant information base and methodological recommendations. We are currently working on the visual concept of a possible design of polling stations and posters, we are deciding upon the information accompaniment that is usually used in election campaigns,” he said.
According to the CEC Chairman, the issue of possible invitation of international observers was also discussed at today’s meeting, “We touched upon a wide range of possible organisations that may be invited, and these may be not limited to the CIS and the SCO that were among our Single Voting Day observers.”
Mr. Karpenko summed up, “Scheduled work is underway. The CEC is open to interaction with all subjects involved in the electoral process. Among them are not only the commissions, but also local authorities that should carefully study where the polling stations will be located, whether they will be convenient for people to come on foot or by transport, what conditions are created there.”
