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Parliament name (generic / translated) Natsionalnoye Sobranie / National Assembly More photos  >>> Structure of parliament Bicameral Chamber name (generic / translated) Palata Predstaviteley / House of Representatives Related chamber (for bicameral parliaments) Soviet Respubliki / Council of the Republic Affiliation to the IPU Yes Affiliation date(s) 1995- 04/1997 09/1997- LEADERSHIP President Vladimir Andreichenko (M)  Notes Elected on 27 Oct. 2008 Secretary General Galina Yurkevich (F)  COMPOSITION Members (statutory / current number) 110 / 110 PERCENTAGE OF WOMEN More statistics  >>> Women (current number) 35 (31.82%) Mode of designation Directly elected 110 Term 4 years Last renewal dates 28 September 2008 (View details) CONTACT INFORMATION Address House of Representatives Natsionalnoye Sobranie Sovetskaya Str. 11 220 010 MINSK (Export mailing lists) Phone (375 17) 222 60 15 222 65 00 Fax (375 17) 222 31 78 E-mail protocol@house.gov.by Website http://www.house.gov.by/

Parliament name (generic / translated) Natsionalnoye Sobranie / National Assembly Structure of parliament Bicameral Chamber name (generic / translated) Palata Predstaviteley / House of Representatives Related chamber (for bicameral parliaments) Soviet Respubliki / Council of the Republic LEGAL FRAMEWORK Electoral law 15 March 1994 Constitution (Art. 64 - 72) Mode of designation Directly elected 110 Constituencies 110 single-member constituencies Voting system Majority: Simple majority vote. In the first round, voting is considered valid if over 50 per cent of eligible voters take part in the polls. Candidates who receive over 50 per cent of votes are declared elected. If none of the candidates obtains 50 per cent of votes, a run-off election between the two leading candidates is held within two weeks. Run-off elections are considered valid if more than 25 per cent of eligible voters take part. The candidate securing a simple majority of votes wins the seat. If the second round of voting is held for only one candidate, the candidate needs to obtain the support of over half of the voters taking part in the election. Voter requirements - age 18 years or over - Belarusian citizenship Disqualifications: citizens considered by the courts as incapable, persons sentenced by courts to confinement in places of imprisonment, and persons who have been placed in preventive detention under legislation governing penal justice procedure. CANDIDATES Eligibility - qualified voters - age: 21 years or over - Belarusian citizenship - residence in the country Incompatibilities - President of the Republic - Judges - Members of the Council of the Republic - Members of a local Council of Deputies Candidacy requirements Candidatures may be submitted by registered political parties, labour collectives or by individuals or groups that collect 1,000 signatures of voters residing in the constituency concerned. Any organization located in the constituency with a staff of at least 300 employees may also submit a candidature.

Parliament name (generic / translated) Natsionalnoye Sobranie / National Assembly Structure of parliament Bicameral Chamber name (generic / translated) Palata Predstaviteley / House of Representatives Related chamber (for bicameral parliaments) Soviet Respubliki / Council of the Republic BACKGROUND Dates of election / renewal (from/to) 28 September 2008 Timing and scope of renewal Elections were held for all the seats in the House of Representatives on the normal expiry of the members' term of office. On 24 June 2008, President Alexander Lukashenko issued a presidential decree calling elections to the House of Representatives for 28 September. In the previous elections held in October 2004, 96 nominally independent candidates were elected, with the remainder representing pro-presidential political parties. None of the 104 candidates from the opposition Popular Coalition Five Plus (see note) were elected. A total of 263 candidates and eight parties contested the 2008 elections. Four pro-presidential parties backed a total of 24 candidates: the Communist Party of Belarus (15 candidates), the Liberal Democratic Party (seven), the Republican Party of Labour and Justice (one) and the Belarusian Agrarian Party (one). Other pro-presidential candidates ran as independents. The United Democratic Force, the opposition coalition formed during the 2006 presidential elections, remained the main opposition force in 2008. It fielded 75 candidates. The coalition included the United Civic Party (UCP, 13 candidates) of Mr. Anatoly Lebedko, the Belarusian People's Front (BPF) Revival Party, Mr. Sergei Kalyakin's Party of Communists of Belarus (PCB, nine candidates), and the Belarusian Social Democratic Party (Hramada, eight candidates), led by Mr. Anatoly Levkovich since August 2008. In the same month, former Hramada leader, Mr. Alexander Kozulin who had been sentenced to five and a half years' imprisonment in 2006 after staging a protest against President Lukashenko was released from prison. In mid August, five UCP candidates in the capital Minsk announced that they would withdraw from the elections, citing obstacles encountered in their campaigning. On 30 August, the BPF, which had seen the candidatures of its two deputy chairmen rejected, announced that the party would withdraw all its candidates before polling day, criticizing the "undemocratic nature" of the elections. The government stated that the electoral process was 'open and transparent'. The candidature of the leader of an unregistered opposition coalition, the European Coalition, Mr. Mikalay Statkevich, was rejected in a Supreme Court ruling of 9 September due to a previous conviction for unauthorized demonstrations against the results of the 2004 parliamentary elections. A total of 76.74 per cent of the 7 million registered voters turned out at the polls. The Organisation for Security and Co operation in Europe (OSCE) and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) sent 465 and 368 observers respectively to monitor the polls. The OSCE declared that the elections fell short of OSCE commitments for democratic elections. However, it noted some improvements such as the slightly increased access of opposition representatives to election commissions and the decision to allow fairer access for all candidates to prime time television..It nevertheless criticized a "barely visible election campaign", which it deemed to be strictly controlled by the government. The CIS and the Central Election Commission said the elections had been "free and open". Final results gave six seats to the Communist Party and one to the Agrarian Party. In all 30 outgoing members were returned. Other elected candidates included 32 managers of State owned companies and institutions, and 17 State officials. No opposition members were elected. The UCP rejected the election results. The newly elected House of Representatives held its first session on 27 October and elected Mr. Vladimir Andreichenko as its new Speaker. Mr. Boris Batura was elected as the new President of the Council of the Republic on 31 October. Indirect elections for this chamber had taken place between 3 and 10 October. Note: The Popular Coalition Five Plus comprised five opposition parties: the Belarusian Popular Front, the Belarus Social Democratic Party, the Party of Communists of Belarus, the Belarusian Social Democratic Party, and the United Civic Party. STATISTICS Voter turnout Round no 1 28 September 2008 Number of registered electors Voters Blank or invalid ballot papers Valid votes 7'016'711 5'384'647 (76.74%) 114'029 5'270'618 Notes Distribution of votes Round no 1 Political group Candidates Votes % of votes Non-partisan members Communist Party of Belarus Agrarian Party Distribution of seats Round no 1 Political Group Total of seats Non-partisan members 103 Communist Party of Belarus 6 Agrarian Party 1 Distribution of seats according to sex Men Women Percent of women 75 35 31.82% Distribution of seats according to age 31 to 40 years 41 to 50 years 51 to 60 years 61 to 70 years 6 23 73 8 Distribution of seats according to profession State authorities Other Industry, building and transport workers Education Health care service Agriculture Culture 29 14 13 11 9 2 2 Comments Note: Data refers to the 80 new members. Among them 32 heads of enterprises, institutions, organizations; 17 heads of local representative, executive and administrative bodies; and two Leaders of Political Parties. Thirty deputies were reelected. Sources: - IPU Group (03.11.2008) - House of Representatives (12.11.2008, 19.02.2009) - http://www.belta.by

Parliament name (generic / translated) Natsionalnoye Sobranie / National Assembly Structure of parliament Bicameral Chamber name (generic / translated) Palata Predstaviteley / House of Representatives Related chamber (for bicameral parliaments) Soviet Respubliki / Council of the Republic NATURE Nature of the mandate · Linked representation - imperative mandate Start of the mandate · At the beginning of the first session of the legislature. Procedure. Validation of mandates · No validation End of the mandate · On the day when the legal term of the House ends - or on the day of early dissolution Can MPs resign? No Can MPs lose their mandate ? Yes Revocation before expiry of mandate by the electors (Art. 72 (1) and (2) of the Constitution of 27.11.1996): the voting for the recall of a deputy is exercised in the order determined for the election of the deputy, and on the initiative of no less than 20 percent of the citizens eligible to vote and resident in the corresponding area. STATUS OF MEMBERS Rank in hierarchy · Within Parliament: 1. The President 2. The Vice-President 3. The President of the Permanent Commission Indemnities, facilities and services · Diplomatic passports · Basic salary + Additional allowance · No exemption from taxes · Special pension scheme · Other facilities: (a) Assistants Obligation to declare personal assets No Parliamentary immunity - parliamentary non-accountability · The concept does exist (Art. 102 (1) of the Constitution). · Parliamentary non-accountability applies to words spoken and written by MPs both within and outside Parliament. · Derogations: charges of slander and insult (Art. 102 (1) of the Constitution); use of rude or insulting words, call for illegal and violent action (see Discipline) · Non-accountability takes effect on the day when the mandate begins and offers, after the expiry of the mandate, protection against prosecution for opinions expressed during the exercise of the mandate. Parliamentary immunity - parliamentary inviolability · The concept does exist (Art. 102 (2) and (3) of the Constitution). · It applies to criminal and civil proceedings and covers all offences with the exception of State treason and other very serious crimes. It protects MPs only from arrest and from being held in preventive custody, not from the opening of judicial proceedings against them and from their homes being searched. However, when criminal proceedings are instituted, a special procedure applies (trial by the Supreme Court). · Derogations: in case of flagrante delicto, State treason and other very serious crimes, the protection does not apply (Art. 102 (2) of the Constitution). · The current state of law does not provide an answer to the question of parliamentary inviolability preventing MPs from being called as witnesses before a judge or tribunal. · Protection is provided from the start to the end of the mandate. Since it does not cover judicial proceedings in general, it does not cover judicial proceedings instituted against MPs before their election. · Parliamentary immunity (inviolability) can be lifted (Art. 102 (2) of the Constitution): - Competent authority: the House of Representatives - Procedure: in this case, MPs can be heard, but do not have means of appeal. · Parliament cannot subject the prosecution and/or detention to certain conditions. · Parliament cannot suspend the prosecution and/or detention of one of its members. · In the event of preventive custody or imprisonment, the MPs concerned cannot be authorised to attend sittings of Parliament. EXERCISE OF THE MANDATE Training · There is a training/initiation process on parliamentary practices and procedures for MPs. · It is provided by the House of Representatives and professionals. · Handbook of parliamentary procedure: - Rules of Procedure of the House of Representatives Participation in the work of the Parliament · It is compulsory for MPs to be present at plenary sittings, committee meetings and meetings of other bodies of which they are members. · Penalties foreseen in case of failure to fulfil this obligation: in cases of absence from plenary sittings without plausible reasons, the MPs can be deprived of their indemnity for the time of their absence. · Body competent to judge such cases/to impose penalties: the President of the House of Representatives Discipline Code (rules) of conduct · This concept does not exist in the country's juridical system, but there are some relevant provisions · Competent body to judge such cases/to impose penalties: the Permanent Commission of the House of Representatives · Procedure Relations between MPs and pressure group · There are no legal provisions in this field.

This page was last updated on 27 January 2010
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