Early voting in the presidential elections starts today in Belarus, reports BELTA.
Early voting in the presidential elections starts today in Belarus, reports BELTA.
You can cast your vote for one of the candidates for the highest state post until October 10. Polling stations will be open from 10:00 to 14:00 and from 16:00 to 19:00. You must have identity documents with you. Ballots will be issued upon presentation of a passport or a certificate from the internal affairs bodies regarding the loss of a passport; for conscripts, upon presentation of a military ID. If a voter does not have a passport (e.g., submitted to an embassy for a visa), but is included in the voting lists, a ballot may be issued based on a civil servant's ID, a student ID, a pension certificate with a photograph, or a driver's license.
Voting in Belarus (both early and on election day) can be done at the place of registration; absentee ballots are not provided. Official confirmation of the reasons for a voter's inability to come to the polling station on election day is not required. Furthermore, as clarified by the Chairperson of the Central Election Commission, Lidia Yermoshina, on the eve of the elections, in exceptional cases, one can vote at their place of residence where they are not registered, but in such a case, proof of residence must be provided to the members of the precinct commission. For example, a lease agreement for residential premises and a contract for the sale of housing will be considered such proof. "That is, the citizen actually lives in a certain apartment but is registered elsewhere, at their previous place of residence," explained Lidia Yermoshina. At the same time, she noted that in such a case, the precinct commission must call the city where the person is registered and inform them that they have already been included in the list elsewhere and will vote there. "But this is impossible if you do not have such proof and are simply living in a friend's apartment without registration," emphasized the Chairperson of the CEC.
Early voting can be conducted at general polling stations within the country and those established abroad, within the generally accepted timeframes. Traditionally, polling stations will also commence operations in military units in advance, allowing military personnel and their family members to support presidential candidates. However, it should be noted that early voting is not conducted at polling stations established in sanatoria, health resorts, rest homes, hospitals, and other healthcare organizations providing inpatient medical care.
Belarusian legislation stipulates that early voting must take place in the presence of at least two members of the precinct election commission and only within the premises of the precinct election commission. Early voting at the voter's place of residence is not permitted.
Upon arriving at the polling station, a citizen presents a passport or other identification document, receives a ballot paper, and signs the voter list, explicitly indicating the date of early voting. The ballot paper is filled out in the secret voting booth, where no one is allowed to be present except the voter themselves. An exception is made for citizens who, due to objective reasons (health problems), are unable to fill out the ballot paper independently. They have the right to invite another person of their choice into the booth, excluding members of the precinct and higher commissions, presidential candidates, their proxies, observers, and journalists.
The ballot paper primarily contains instructions on how to fill it out; the reverse side must bear the signatures of at least two members of the precinct election commission. The ballot paper lists all registered presidential candidates alphabetically, including their surname, given name, patronymic, date of birth, position (occupation), place of work, and place of residence, as well as their party affiliation. To the right of the information for each contender for the highest state office, there is an empty square. At the end of the list of candidates, there is a line "Against all candidates" with an empty square to its right.
Having made their decision, the voter must place any mark (a cross, a tick) in the empty square to the right of the surname of the candidate for whom they are voting. If the voter votes against all candidates, they place any mark in the empty square to the right of the line "Against all candidates."
If a citizen believes they have made a mistake when filling out a ballot paper, they have the right to approach a member of the polling station commission and request a new ballot paper in exchange for the spoiled one. The spoiled ballot paper shall be cancelled and not counted thereafter. A ballot paper shall be deemed invalid if a mark is placed in more than one box, or if no mark is placed in any box. Furthermore, a ballot paper of an unestablished format (differing in size, colour, paper quality, printing font, etc.) shall be considered invalid, as shall a ballot paper where the reverse side lacks the signatures of the polling station commission members.
In Belarus, over 7 million ballot papers have been printed for the main electoral event of 2015. The number of reserve ballot papers shall not exceed 5% and they are distributed among the polling stations.
Presidential elections will be held on 11 October.