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2016 Belarusian parliamentary election

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2016 Belarusian parliamentary election
Belarus
← 2012 11 September 2016 2019 →

All 110 seats in the House of Representatives
56 seats needed for a majority
Turnout74.68% (Increase 0.07pp)
Party Leader Vote % Seats +/–
CPB Igor Karpenko [be] 7.40 8 +5
LDPB Sergei Gaidukevich 4.24 1 +1
RPTS Vasil Zadnyaprany [be] 2.87 3 +2
AGP Anatoly Lebedko 2.16 1 +1
BPP Nikolai Ulakhovich [be] 2.16 3 +3
Independents 67.01 94 −9
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.
Results by constituency
Speaker of the House of Representatives before Speaker of the House of Representatives after
Vladimir Andreichenko
CPB
Vladimir Andreichenko
CPB
Polling station in Povstyn
Women singing near polling station in Veseia
Members of a commission showing empty ballot box before its closure, Slutsk
OSCE observers in a polling station in Bokshytsy

Parliamentary elections were held in Belarus on 11 September 2016.[1]

Electoral system

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The 110 members of the House of Representatives were previously elected using the two-round system. However, a new electoral code was introduced in 2013, abolishing the requirement for candidates to receive an absolute majority, effectively changing the voting system to first-past-the-post. All candidates are elected in single-member constituencies.[2] However, if there is only one candidate, they are required to receive at least 50% of the votes cast (voters may also vote against all).[2][3] Voter turnout in a constituency must be at least 50% for the election to be deemed valid.[3]

In cases where the turnout have not been met or no candidate has been elected, repeat elections will be held.[3]

Seat distribution
Region Seats
City of Minsk 20
Brest Region 16
Gomel Region 17
Grodno Region 13
Mogilev Region 13
Minsk Region 17
Vitebsk Region 14
Total seats 110
Seal on a ballot box for early voting, Slutsk. Left picture was taken in the evening of the last day of early voting, right - in the morning next day

Participating parties

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The pro-government Communist Party of Belarus, the Liberal Democratic Party, the Republican Party of Labour and Justice and the Belarusian Patriotic Party all participated in the elections, whilst many pro-government candidates ran as independents.

In contrast to the previous elections in 2012, the opposition did not boycott the elections, instead forming an alliance under the name Prava Vybaru (Belarusian: Права Выбару, Russian: Право выбора, 'The Right to Choose') consisting of the BPF Party, the Belarusian Christian Democracy, the Belarusian Social Democratic Party (Assembly), the Za svabodu movement, the United Civic Party of Belarus, the Belarusian Party "The Greens", the Belarusian Liberal Party of Freedom and Progress and the Trade Union of Electric Industry.[4] The Belarusian Left Party "A Just World" also contested the elections.[5]

Party Leader Ideology Position Number of participating
constituencies
Liberal Democratic Party Sergei Gaidukevich Pan-Slavism Constructive opposition (declarative)
Pro-government (in fact)
73
United Civic Party of Belarus Anatoly Lebedko Liberal conservatism Part of the opposition alliance "The Right to Choose" 53
BPF Party Alaksiej Janukievich Belarusian nationalism Part of the opposition alliance "The Right to Choose" 45
Belarusian Left Party "A Just World" Sergey Kalyakin Democratic socialism Opposition 37
Communist Party of Belarus Igor Karpenko Communism, Marxism–Leninism Pro-government 36
Belarusian Social Democratic Party (Assembly) Irina Veshtard Social democracy Part of the opposition alliance "The Right to Choose" 27
Republican Party of Labour and Justice Vasil Zadnyaprany Social democracy Pro-government 16
Belarusian Patriotic Party Nikolai Ulakhovich Social justice Pro-government 16
Belarusian Party "The Greens" Aleh Novikaŭ Green Politics Part of the opposition alliance "The Right to Choose" 5

Results

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The Central Election Commission stated that elections had been deemed valid in all constituencies. At the same time, independent observers declared that turnout data had been falsified in many constituencies, particularly in Minsk, and the real turnout was less than 50% required for the results in a constituency to be deemed valid.

Results by constituency.

The elections saw two opposition candidates win seats, the first since 2004. Hanna Kanapatskaya, a member of the United Civic Party won in one of the Minsk constituencies, whilst independent candidate Alena Anisim won in a constituency in the Minsk Region. The other 93 independent candidates were considered to be pro-government. The Communist Party of Belarus, the Republican Party of Labour and Justice and the Belarusian Patriotic Party all support President Alexander Lukashenko, and although the Liberal Democratic Party declares to be "constructive democratic opposition", it is de facto pro-government.

PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Communist Party of Belarus380,7707.408+5
Liberal Democratic Party218,0814.241+1
Republican Party of Labour and Justice147,3782.873+2
United Civic Party111,2272.161New
Belarusian Patriotic Party111,0452.163New
BPF Party88,5111.7200
Belarusian Left Party "A Just World"72,1851.4000
Belarusian Social Democratic Party (Assembly)66,3811.2900
Belarusian Green Party9,0380.180New
Independents3,445,56267.0194–11
Against all491,9869.57
Total5,142,164100.001100
Valid votes5,142,16498.66
Invalid/blank votes69,7071.34
Total votes5,211,871100.00
Registered voters/turnout6,978,49074.68
Source: CEC (results), CEC (candidate information)

References

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