In the Pridvinye region, voter turnout exceeded 75%, and in some districts, it was over 80%. Dmitry Khoma, Chairman of the Regional Election Commission, spoke about the preliminary results of the elections to the local Soviets and the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus at a meeting in the Vitebsk Region Media Centre.
Dmitry Khoma gave a positive assessment of the electoral campaign, which was held under new rules. He emphasized that the unified voting day is not a Belarusian know-how but a practice used in many countries around the world.
— It is easier to organize. On the other hand, there is also a certain electoral fatigue among voters when such campaigns occur quite often, — Dmitry Khoma stressed. — Of course, this experience is new for all of us. Yesterday, the commissions faced certain difficulties, and the vote count was quite complex and lengthy. This means that the time spent on it has increased somewhat. But for voters, it is undoubtedly convenient to make their choice on one day.
Preliminary results of the electoral campaign were announced. In the Vitebsk region, there were over 842 thousand voters on the list for the elections to the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus. Of these, 76.27% voted. For the elections to local Councils, the voter turnout was slightly lower in percentage terms – 75.63% of over 856 thousand voters. At the same time, there are regions where public activity was particularly high – for example, Beshenkovichsky and Dubrovensky districts. There, the turnout exceeded 80%, reported Dmitry Khoma.
It should be noted that young people participating in the elections for the first time demonstrated a responsible attitude towards their civic duty. In our region, there are over 19 thousand such young men and women. And more than 80% of them came to vote.
At the press conference, Dmitry Khoma read out the lists of deputies elected to the House of Representatives and the regional Council. However, he once again emphasized that all information is preliminary. The final election results will be known when the Vitebsk Regional Election Commission holds its meeting. It is scheduled for Tuesday evening, February 27. The Central Election Commission is to summarize the results and announce them on Friday.
According to Dmitry Khoma, despite the complexities associated with holding a unified voting day in our country, the electoral commissions at all levels received significantly fewer appeals from citizens this time than in previous electoral campaigns of recent years.
— The regional commission has received only ten appeals so far, — he explained. — Three citizens appealed the results of the registration of initiative groups. One citizen defended his right to register an initiative group in the Vitebsk Regional Court. The court upheld the decision of the regional electoral commission. Two citizens appealed the decisions of electoral commissions (one district, the second city) regarding the refusal to register as candidates for deputies.
Some required clarification on how to vote at the place of actual residence, rather than at the registration address. There were also reports that voters had not received postcards inviting them to the polling station and informational materials about candidates for deputies. However, after verification, two out of three such cases were not confirmed.
— These are isolated incidents that have in no way affected the voting results in the Vitebsk region, — emphasized Dmitry Khoma.
He highly praised the level of informational support for the electoral campaign, the activity of the media and the candidates for deputies themselves, the vast majority of whom took the opportunity to post their programmes on the websites of city (district) executive committees.
— I believe all citizens had full access to information, — noted Dmitry Khoma. — And the statements of individual voters that they did not know whom to vote for, today perhaps speak more about low electoral culture or an unwillingness to get to know the candidates better.
Source: vitebsk-region.gov.by
