Republic

Today is first day of early voting for next president of Belarus

The early voting for the presidential election of the Republic of Belarus starts on March 14. People can cast ballots from 10.00 to 14.00 and from 16.00 to 19.00; BelTA was informed by secretary of the central election commission of Belarus Nikolai Lozovik. In accordance with the Belarusian electoral legislation the early voting will last 5 days till March 18 inclusive. According to the resolution of the central election commission the ballots will be given to citizens of Belarus who have the right to vote upon presenting a passport. Apart from passports, other IDs are also acceptable like a pension card (with a photograph of its holder), a student card, a card of an employee of a state body, a military service record card, a certificate issued by the interior ministry to people who had lost their passports. Every voting paper includes names of the registered candidates for the presidency in the alphabetical order. The text of the document is in Belarusian. The data on every candidate features the date of birth, profession, office, place of residence and what party he/she belongs to if any. There is an open square on the right from every candidate. At the bottom of the page there is a line “against all candidates”. Niklay Lozovik explained that every voter is entitled to early voting without explaining the reason of failing to come to a polling station on the day of the official voting. Early voting is available at polling stations only. It is obligatory that no fewer than two members of the commission be present at a polling station during the early voting. Special booths are equipped for voters to provide privacy during voting.