Government’s expert group develops Electoral Code amendments

A group of experts has developed amendments to Belarus’ electoral regulations, Valery Mitskevich, deputy head of the central election commission and director of the National Center for Legislation and Legal Studies, told BelaPAN on Friday.

The bill of amendments is currently under consideration by concerned governmental agencies and its provisions may be altered, said Mr. Mitskevich, who chairs the expert group.

Mr. Mitskevich refused to specify what changes his group proposes. It will be possible to talk about them when the bill is agreed upon and finalized, he said.

He noted that the authors had taken into consideration various recommendations, including suggestions expressed by OSCE experts following Belarus’ 2008 parliamentary elections.

The decision to establish the expert group was made on January 22 during a meeting in Minsk between Belarus' top election officials and Janez Lenarcic, director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).

Belarusian officials and ODIHR experts held meetings in Minsk in February and in Warsaw in late March to discuss measures to improve the country's electoral regulations.