Presidential election 2015 in Belarus

MINSK, 30 July (BelTA) – Five potential presidential candidates have already introduced their private election funds, Chairperson of the Central Election Commission (CEC) of Belarus Lidia Yermoshina said in an interview to Belarus One TV channel on 30 July, BelTA informs.

“It is good that those who are nominating make use of this novelty, which is an opportunity to open bank accounts once their initiative group is registered. This amendment to the Electoral Code of Belarus was introduced three years ago. Five prospective candidates have opened their bank accounts. I hope that voters will support the candidates,” Lidia Yermoshina said.

The campaign environment in Belarus is calm, the CEC Chairperson was quoted as saying. The Central Election Commission has so far received no complaint regarding the activity of the initiative groups to nominate presidential candidates. “According to the CEC head, it shows that the local authorities did their best to make the signature collection process maximally liberal,” the Belarusian TV channel stressed.

As was informed, the Central Election Commission of Belarus registered eight initiative groups to nominate Alexander Lukashenko, Sergei Kalyakin, Sergei Gaidukevich, Viktor Tereshchenko, Nikolai Ulakhovich, Zhanna Romanovskaya, Tatiana Korotkevich and Anatoly Lebedko. In order to be nominated as a presidential candidate they are required to collect at least 100,000 valid support signatures from voters. Each voter can put his/her signature in support of several potential candidates.