The presidential election in Belarus is scheduled for December 19, 2010

September 14, Minsk /Lyudmila Sats - BELTA/. The presidential election in Belarus has been scheduled for December 19, 2010. This decision was made today at a meeting of the 5th extraordinary session of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus, a BELTA correspondent reports. All 108 deputies present unanimously voted for this date. In accordance with the Constitution of Belarus and the Electoral Code, the House of Representatives shall appoint the presidential election no later than five months before the expiration of the powers of the President of Belarus. The election shall be held no later than two months before the expiration of the powers of the previous President. Thus, according to the current legislation, the presidential election in Belarus must be held no later than February 6, 2011. As reported, when determining the election date, the Standing Commission on State Building, Local Self-Government and Regulations proceeded from the need to ensure maximum citizen participation in the election campaign and to hold it at a convenient time for voters. Holding the election before the end of the year will allow, without losing time on the electoral process, to begin implementing the country's socio-economic development tasks for the next year and five-year period literally from the beginning of 2011. In addition, the beginning of the year is full of secular and religious holidays, so this period is not entirely convenient for holding elections. After the announcement of the proposed date, a discussion on this issue broke out among the deputies. In particular, the deputies were interested in the date of the second round of elections, in case it is needed. The fact is that the second round of elections, as a rule, takes place two weeks after the first. Thus, if the first round of elections is held on December 19, 2010, the second round will fall on January 2, 2011. In this regard, the chairman of the Standing Commission on State Building, Local Self-Government and Regulations, Vasily Baykov, explained that Article 80 of the Electoral Code of the Republic of Belarus clearly stipulates that the Central Election Commission shall set the date for the second round of voting no later than two weeks after the first round. Thus, the second round of presidential elections in Belarus may be scheduled earlier than January 2, 2011. Deputies also made proposals to hold the elections in January 2011. They argued that, according to current legislation, the powers of the current President of Belarus expire in April 2011. In this regard, the question arises: is it necessary to shorten the term of office of the current President? Some deputies proposed setting February 6 as the election date. Considering this issue, Vasily Baykov noted that if the elections are held on December 19, public activity will be much higher than if the elections are held in February. The fact is that the beginning of the year includes student holidays, and some part of the population may go on vacation. Therefore, it is advisable to hold the elections on December 19, according to Vasily Baykov. There were also proposals to hold the elections on December 12. According to Vasily Baykov, there should be no less than three months between the date of appointment of the elections and the date of their holding. Today is September 14, so we are no longer within the deadline for December 12. Following the discussion, all 108 deputies present unanimously voted for December 19. The Chairman of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus, Vladimir Andreichenko, noted at the closing of the 5th extraordinary session of the House of Representatives of the 4th convocation: "We have made the decision to hold the presidential election of the Republic of Belarus on December 19, 2010. Given the significance of this event for the country, we have serious and responsible organizational and political work ahead of us, both in parliament and in the electoral districts, to ensure that the election of the head of state is held openly, democratically, and in strict accordance with the Constitution." He also noted that although the session was short, its results were very significant due to the scale of the issues considered, both for solving current socio-economic problems and for determining the country's development paths for the future. "The uniqueness of the past session is also determined by the fact that never before has the preparation and adoption of the draft law on the republican budget been carried out in such an operational and intense manner," said Vladimir Andreichenko. According to him, the adoption of a package of documents aimed at improving the budget, financial, and tax spheres will significantly strengthen the legal foundation of the country's policy of liberalizing the economy, unleashing entrepreneurial initiative, and ensuring effective post-crisis development. These decisions are of particular relevance in the context of preparing for the 4th All-Belarusian People's Assembly. Vladimir Andreichenko also emphasized that a distinctive feature of the upcoming session will be that a significant part of the issues will have a social focus. Among the most resonant draft laws are the Education Code, the Housing Code, and the Law "On Appeals of Citizens and Legal Entities." Currently, more than 50 draft laws are under consideration in the standing commissions, and it is planned that the total number of agenda items for the session will at least double. Vladimir Andreichenko wished all deputies a working mood and a focus on high-quality preparation for the upcoming session. -0-