Campaigning Begins for Belarus Presidential Election
The presidential election campaign in Belarus commences today, marking the start of a crucial period for candidates competing for the nation's highest office. Scheduled for January 26, the election will see the campaigning phase run until January 25, with strict regulations governing candidates' activities.
According to guidelines set forth by the Central Election Commission (CEC), candidates will be able to share their electoral programs through national media outlets, including prominent newspapers like Respublika and Zviazda, and will have access to national television and radio platforms for their messages.
The CEC has established designated areas for public gatherings, voter engagement, and the display of campaign materials, in accordance with the country's Electoral Code. Candidates are permitted to produce campaign materials funded by their electoral accounts, with the requirement that all materials must be created within Belarus.
As part of the campaign framework, the CEC has announced that four presidential candidates will have their speeches aired on Belarus-1 on the evenings of January 9 and 16. Notably, the incumbent president, Alexander Lukashenko, who is seeking re-election, has chosen not to utilize his allotted airtime for these speeches, as stated by the CEC spokesperson.
Additionally, candidates will have opportunities to broadcast their messages on the radio on mornings leading up to the election, with each candidate allotted two sessions on both television and radio, each lasting no longer than 30 minutes.
Televised debates are also part of the electoral process, scheduled for January 20, the day before early voting begins. Representatives from the candidates are expected to participate in these debates, which aim to provide a platform for direct discourse among the contenders.
This year's presidential race features five candidates: Oleg Gaidukevich, the chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party of Belarus; Anna Kanopatskaya, an individual entrepreneur; Alexander Lukashenko, the current president; Sergey Syrankov, the first secretary of the Communist Party Central Committee; and Alexander Khizhnyak, the chairman of the Republican Party of Labor and Justice.
