Presidential election 2015 in Belarus

MINSK, 24 August (BelTA) – The Central Election Commission (CEC) of Belarus plans to verify the signatures in support of prospective presidential candidates by 1 September, CEC Chairperson Lidia Yermoshina said in an interview with the First National Channel of the Belarusian Radio on 24 August, BelTA informs.

“The voter signatures will be counted in 10 days, by 1 September. We plan to register candidates by 10 September. It means that the election campaigning period will start on 11 September,” said Lidia Yermoshina.

In her words, potential candidates should already start preparing their election programs for the publication in newspapers and getting ready for election speeches.

According to Lidia Yermoshina, the potential presidential candidates will not be able to meet their voters officially before 11 September. “However, today the Internet provides plenty of opportunity to campaign. Candidates that are active in the social network will not waste time to strengthen their positions,” she said.

In her words, the CEC received complaints that portraits of the potential candidates and their pre-election mottoes were available during the voter signature collection period, i.e. before the start of the official election campaigning. “It is impossible to collect signatures without advertising. It is normal that initiative groups provide information characterizing the personality of the potential candidate,” the CEC head said.