Republic of Belarus: Parliament, 11 September 2016

At stake in this election:

• 110 seats in the Palata Predstaviteley (Chamber of Representatives)

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Aleksandr LUKASHENKO (since 20 July 1994)
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Andrey KABYAKOV (since 27 December 2014)
• Assembly: Belarus has a bicameral Natsionalnoye Sobraniye (National Assembly) consisting of the Sovet Respubliki (Council of the Republic) and the Palata Predstaviteley (Chamber of Representatives). There are 64 seats in the Council of the Republic and 110 seats in the Chamber of Representatives.

Description of electoral system:

• Members of the Chamber of Representatives directly elected in single-seat constituencies by absolute majority vote with a second round if needed, with members serving 4-year terms.

Last Election:

• Elections for the Chamber of Representatives were last held on 23 September 2012. Independent candidates won 105 seats, 3 seats went to the Communist Party, and the Agrarian Party and Republican Party of Labour and Justice each took 1 seat.

Main parties in the election:

• Pro-Government Parties
  • Communist Party of Belarus/Kommunističeskaja Partija Belarusi (KPB)
    • Leader: Igor KARPENKO
    • Seats won in last election: 3
  • Agrarian Party/Agrarnaja Partija (AP)
    • Leader: Mikhail SHIMANSKIY
    • Seats won in last election: 1
  • Republican Party of Labour and Justice/Respublikanskaja Partija Truda i Spravedlivosti (RPTS)
    • Leader: Vasiliy ZADNEPRYANIY
    • Seats won in last election: 1
  • Liberal Democratic Party of Belarus (LDP)
    • Leader: Sergey GAYDUKEVICH
    • Seats won in last election: 0
  • Belarusian Patriotic Party/Biełaruskaja patryjatyčnaja partyja
    • Leader: Nikolai ULAKHOVICH
    • Seats won in last election: 0

• Opposition Parties:
  • Belarusian Party “The Greens”/Biełaruskaja Partyja "Zialonyja"
    • Leader: Anastasiya DOROFEYEVA
    • Seats won in last election: 0
  • Belarusian Christian Democracy Party
    • Leader: Pavel SEVERINETS
    • Seats won in last election: 0
  • United Civil Party/Abjadnanaja hramadzianskaja partyja Biełarusi
    • Leader: Anatoliy LEBEDKO
    • Seats won in last election: 0
  • Belarusian Social Democratic Party (People’s Assembly)/Biełaruskaja Sacyjal-Demakratyčnaja Partyja (Narodnaja Hramada)
    • Leader: Nikolay STATKEVICH
    • Seats won in last election: 0
  • The Belarusian Popular Front/Biełaruski Narodny Front "Adradžeńnie"
    • Leader: Aleksey YANUKEVICH
    • Seats won in last election: 0
  • The Belarusian Party of the Left “Fair World”
    • Leader: Sergey KALYAKIN
    • Seats won in last election: 0
  • Movement for Freedom*
    • Leader: Aleksandr MILINKEVICH
    • Seats won in last election: 0
  • Tell the Truth*
    • Leader: Tatsiana KARATKEVICH
    • Seats won in last election: 0
• Others
  • Independents
    • Seats won in last election: 105

*Note: these parties are unregistered.

Population and number of registered voters:

·         Population: 9,589,689 (July 2015 est.)

·         Registered Voters: 7,008,682 (2015)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 5,129,008 (July 2015 est.)

·         Is Belarus a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (17 July 1980)

·         Has Belarus ratified CEDAW: Yes (4 February 1981)

·         Gender Quota: No

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 49 (29.17%)[1]

·         Human Development Index Position: 50

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Very Low

Disability Data:

·         Is Belarus a signatory to CRPD: Yes (28 September 2015)

·         Has Belarus ratified CRPD: No

·         Population with a disability: 1,438,453