Every candidate in Belarus’ presidential election will get one hour of air time in two 30-minute sessions on the First National TV Channel and one hour of air time on radio, Chairperson of the Central Election Commission (CEC) Lidia Yermoshina told the ONT TV channel on 19 September.
The candidates will get even more air time in TV and radio debates. "If they are not afraid of disputes and are ready to share their views with people, they will get time for it," said Lidia Yermoshina.
The 2010 state budget is supposed to allocate Br27 billion for the first round of the presidential election and around Br11 billion for the second one. "The money is estimated to cover expenses of ten presidential candidates. If more is needed, we have reserves. This is why nobody will be hurt and will get everything the law guarantees," she said.
It is optimal to have several candidates compete in an election campaign, said Lidia Yermoshina. It would be too daring to expect a larger number of participants because most politicians are pragmatic about their abilities and prefer avoiding the possibility of getting portrayed in a bad light.
According to the CEC Chairperson, in Belarus the general public trusts results of elections and the election procedure but getting relaxed is not an option. "Elections are built on nuances, small details. Some details can substantially worsen or improve something. We constantly urge election commissions and municipal authorities to follow the law as much as possible, to work openly and provide citizens with an opportunity to get familiar with the entire election procedure," said Lidia Yermoshina.
