At Stake in this Election:  

• The Presidency of Belarus 

Government Structure:  

• Chief of State: President Aleksandr LUKASHENKO (since 20 July 1994) 

• Head of Government: Prime Minister Roman GOLOVCHENKO (since 4 June 2020) 

• Assembly: bicameral National Assembly (Natsyyalny Skhod) with 64-seat Council of the Republic (Savet Respubliki) and 110-seat House of Representatives (Palata Pradstawnikow).  

Electoral System:  

• The President is directly elected by absolute majority vote in up to 2-rounds to a 5-year term, fully renewable.  

• The Prime Minister is appointed by the President and approved by the National Assembly. 

• 56 of the 64 members in the Council of the Republic are indirectly elected by regional councils. The remaining 8 members are appointed by the President. All members are elected to 4-year terms. 

• All 110 members of the House of Representatives are directly elected in single member constituencies by absolute majority vote in up to 2-rounds. All members are elected to 4-year terms.  

Last Election:  

In the last election in 2020, President Aleksandr LUKASHENKO was reelected in the first round with 80% of the vote. Voter turnout was 84%. 

Information for Voters: 

Выборы Президента Республики Беларусь / Elections of the President of the Republic of Belarus (in Russian) 

New/Unique in this Election:  

In January 2024, President LUKASHENKO signed a law establishing new eligibility requirements for presidential candidates. To be eligible to run for president under the new law, potential candidates must have permanently resided in Belarus for at least 20 years and must have never been a resident of another country. These new requirements will prevent several exiled opposition leaders from participating in the election as candidates.  

Key Deadlines:  

• Candidate filing deadline: 7 November 2024 

• Voter registration deadline: Not applicable, voter registration is passive. 

Main Candidates in this Election:  

• Aleksandr LUKASHENKO 

• • Party: Independent 

• Oleg GAIDUKEVICH 

• • Party: Liberal Democratic Party of Belarus / Либерально-демократической партии Беларуси 

• Hanna KANAPATSKAYA 

• • Party: Independent 

• Sergei SYRANKOV 

• • Party: Communist Party of Belarus / Коммунистической партии Беларуси 

• Alexander KHIZHNYAK 

• • Party: Republican Party of Labor and Justice / Республиканской партии труда и справедливости 

Population and Registered Voters: 

• Population: 9,178,298 (2023 est.) 

• Registered Voters: 6,900,504 (2024) 

Gender Data: 

• Female Population: 4,900,868 (2023 est.) 

• CEDAW Status: Signed 17 Jul 1980, Ratified 04 Feb 1981 

• Gender Quota: No 

• Female Candidates in this election: Yes 

• Number of Female Legislators (pre-election): 37 of 110 (34%) in the House of Representatives  

• Human Development Index (HDI) Position: 0.801, Very High, rank 69 (2022) 

• Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Not available 

Disability Data: 

• CRPD Status: Signed 28 Sep 2015, Ratified 29 Nov 2016 

• Projected population with a disability: 1,468,528 (2023 est.) 

IFES Resources: 

• Does IFES have a presence in Belarus: No 

• Election Access: Yes