In the Vitebsk region, 796 polling stations are ready to welcome voters

Today, the election campaign for the President of the Republic of Belarus has reached its final stage, as voters can now exercise their right to early voting. In the Vitebsk region, 796 polling stations are ready for this purpose. Voters wishing to vote early will be able to do so from 10:00 to 14:00 and from 16:00 to 19:00 for five days, i.e., until October 10 inclusive, only at the premises of the precinct election commission. Early voting at the voter's place of residence is not permitted, nor is it conducted at polling stations established in sanatoriums, health resorts, rest homes, hospitals, and other healthcare organizations providing inpatient medical care.

As noted by Dmitry Khoma, Chairman of the Regional Commission for the Election of the President of the Republic of Belarus, voting, both early and on the main election day of October 11, can only be done at the place of registration. Official confirmation of the reasons for a voter's inability to come to the polling station on election day is not required. It is mandatory to have identity documents with you. Ballots will be issued upon presentation of a passport or a certificate from the internal affairs bodies regarding the loss of a passport; for conscripts, a military ID will suffice. If a voter does not have a passport for any reason (e.g., it has been submitted to an embassy for a visa), but is included in the voting lists, a ballot may be issued based on a civil servant's ID, a student ID, a pension certificate with a photograph, or a driver's license. The lists are verified and compiled by local authorities. According to information as of October 4, a total of 877,793 voters are included in these lists in the Vitebsk region, but the process of refining this number is ongoing until the main voting day.

Upon arriving at the polling station, a citizen presents a passport or other identification document, receives a ballot, and signs the voter list, necessarily indicating the date of early voting. The ballot is filled out in a booth for secret voting, where no one is allowed to be present except the voter themselves. An exception is made for citizens who are unable to fill out the ballot independently due to objective reasons (health problems). They have the right to invite another person of their choice into the booth, excluding members of the precinct and higher commissions, presidential candidates, their proxies, observers, and journalists. According to Dmitry Khoma, most polling stations in the Vitebsk region are equipped with elements of barrier-free environment, and conditions have been created for visually impaired individuals to exercise their will independently.

Throughout the entire early voting period, members of the regional election commission plan to visit election commissions in each district daily to ensure the quality of the preparatory work done, monitor the organization of the voting process itself, and get a firsthand understanding of voter activity levels at the local level, the head of the regional commission added.

Sergey Antonov, "Vitebskiye Vesti".