Parliament approves 11 October 2015 as Belarus president election date

MINSK (BelTA) – The Belarus president election will take place on 11 October 2015. The decision was made by the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus on 30 June, the final day of the parliament's seventh session, BelTA has learned.

Addressing the lower chamber of the Belarus parliament on 30 June, Chairwoman of the Central Election Commission (CEC) Lidia Yermoshina reminded that the election will involve a novelty — pre-election campaigning can now be financed by the electoral funds that the candidates can establish.

“With this in mind the possible size of the electoral fund that a presidential candidate can have has been increased from 3,000 base amounts to 9,000 base amounts. At present the sum stands at Br1.620 billion or about $105,000,” said Lidia Yermoshina.

The candidate's contribution to the electoral fund is now unlimited. “Now a candidate can fill the entire electoral fund with his or her own money and finance the entire campaign. In the past candidates were allowed to contribute 50 base amounts at most,” explained the CEC head.

Lidia Yermoshina also pointed out that these electoral funds can be set up as soon as initiative groups are established for the sake of financing the collection of signatures. “We believe the novelties that grant more opportunities for financing campaigning will result in the legalization of many expenses incurred by candidates or potential candidates,” she said.