House of Representatives of Belarus
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Under the 1996 Constitution, the House of Representatives (Belarusian: Палата Прадстаўнікоў, Palata Pradstawnikow, Russian: Палата Представителей, Palata Predstaviteley) is the lower house of the parliament of Belarus.
It consists of 110 deputies elected on the basis of universal, equal, free, and direct electoral suffrage by secret ballot (art. 91). It is a majoritarian system, with the outcome decided by overall majorities in single-member constituencies. Any citizen of 21 years is eligible for election (art. 92). The functions of the House are to consider draft laws and the other business of government; it must approve the nomination of a prime minister (art. 97); and it may deliver a vote of no confidence on the government (art. 97).
The upper house is the Council of the Republic.
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[edit] Powers
Bills adopted by the House of Representatives are being sent to the Council of the Republic for consideration within five days, where they are considered within no more than twenty days.
Special powers that accorded only to the House of Representatives are:
- consider draft laws put forward by the President or submitted by no less than 150 thousand citizens of the Republic of Belarus, who are eligible to vote, to make amendments and alterations in the Constitution and give its interpretation
- consider draft laws, including the guidelines of the domestic and foreign policy of the Republic of Belarus; the military doctrine; ratification and denunciation of international treaties;
- call elections for the Presidency;
- grant consent to the President concerning the appointment of the Prime minister;
- consider the report of the Prime minister on the policy of the Government and approve or reject it; a second rejection by the House of the policy of the Government is an expression of non-confidence to the Government;
[edit] Election rules
Simple majority vote. In the first round, voting is considered valid if over 50 percent 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 percent 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 percent 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.[1]
[edit] 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.[1]
[edit] Speakers of the House of Representatives
| Name | Entered Office | Left Office |
|---|---|---|
| Anatoly Malofeyev | December 28, 1996 | November 21, 2000 |
| Vadim Popov | November 21, 2000 | November 16, 2004 |
| Vladimir Konoplev | November 16, 2004 | October 2, 2007 |
| Vadim Popov | October 2, 2007 | October 27, 2008 |
| Vladimir Andreichenko | October 27, 2008 | Present |
[edit] Fraction
(2008 4 th convocation).
| Fraction | Number of Deputies |
|---|---|
 Block Alexander Lukashenko |
102 |
 Communist Party of Belarus |
8 |
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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