Candidates standing for Belarus Parliament to submit election programs by 21 August

MINSK (BelTA) – Candidates standing in the elections to the House of Representatives shall provide the election programs to print media no later than 21 August, Yelena Dmukhailo, a representative of the Belarusian Central Election Commission (CEC), said at a CEC meeting on 28 June, BelTA has learnt.

Election programs will be published in national newspapers such as Zvyazda, Respublika, regional newspapers and in Vecherny Minsk newspaper, Yelena Dmukhailo noted. The order they will be published will match the order they are submitted.

With regard to television and radio, candidates nominated in Minsk will be offered airtime on Belarus 3 TV Channel and Radio Minsk. The plans to allocate airtime on Belarus 2 TV channel were cancelled in connection with the broadcast of the Olympic Games from Rio de Janeiro. In Minsk Oblast, airtime will be allotted on STV Channel and Minskaya Volna. Candidates in other regions will be able to make statements on air of regional TV and radio stations.

Five minutes of television and radio airtime will be provided to candidates. TV broadcasts are scheduled for evening time from 19.00 to 20.00. Radio broadcasts will be offered in the morning between 7.00 and 8.00. Five-minute televised debates will also be included in this year's parliamentary election campaign. Consent from at least two candidates of one constituency is enough to hold a debate. The debates will be aired in their recorded versions, with the broadcasting time to be determined by district election commissions before 12 August. Proxies have the right to represent candidates at the debates.

Apart from that, candidates will also have the right to use their election accounts to purchase space in print media and airtime of TV and radio companies.