Presidential election 2015 in Belarus

MINSK, 29 September (BelTA) – The Central Election Commission of Belarus will stage a general rehearsal of the presidential election on 5 October, BelTA learned from Chairwoman of the Central Election Commission (CEC) of Belarus Lidia Yermoshina on 29 September.

According to the source, as part of the general rehearsal the communication means of all the election commissions will be checked. All the election commissions will transfer information up the chain about the number of voters on the voting list at every polling station, information about the number of ballot boxes, including transparent ones, information about the number of ballots each commission has received, about the accredited observers and other data.

Apart from that, the CEC head will make the election campaign’s final video address via the dedicated website vybory2015.by on 5 October.

Lidia Yermoshina also reminded that an information center will be opened in Minsk’s Palace of the Republic at 10:00 on 11 October to offer press conferences every two hours to accredited reporters. Direct reports from heads of territorial commissions — the oblast ones and the Minsk city election commission — will be arranged as well.

The information center will stay open until preliminary results of the election are announced. “In other words, into the night,” said Lidia Yermoshina. A press conference involving the head of the Belarusian election organization agency is scheduled to take place at 11:00 on 12 October.

Lidia Yermoshina also said that the first round of the election has been fully financed, with Br171.777 billion transferred to the election commissions. If the second round is required, Br180 billion has been appropriated.