Miory Regional Executive Committee

In the Vitebsk region, voter turnout exceeded 75%, and in some districts it reached over 80%. At a meeting at the Media Center of the Vitebsk region, Chairman of the Regional Electoral Commission Dmitry Khoma discussed the preliminary results of the elections to local Councils and the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus.

Dmitry Khoma gave a positive assessment of the electoral campaign conducted under new rules. He emphasized that a single voting day is not a Belarusian innovation, but a practice used in many countries around the world.

"It is easier to organize. On the other hand, a certain degree of voter fatigue is observed when such campaigns are held frequently," Dmitry Khoma noted. "Of course, this experience is new for all of us. Yesterday, commissions encountered certain difficulties, and the vote counting process was quite complex and lengthy. As a result, the time spent on it increased somewhat. But for voters, this is undoubtedly convenient — to make their choice in a single day."

Preliminary results of the electoral campaign were announced. In the Vitebsk region, there were over 842,000 voters on the list for the elections to the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus. Of them, 76.27% voted. For the elections to local Councils, the turnout percentage was slightly lower — 75.63% of more than 856,000 voters. At the same time, there are districts where population activity proved to be particularly high — for example, Beshenkovichy and Dubrovna districts. There, turnout exceeded 80%, Dmitry Khoma reported.

It is worth noting that young people participating in the elections for the first time demonstrated a responsible attitude toward their civic duty. In our region, there are over 19,000 such young men and women. And more than 80% of them came out to vote.

At the press conference, Dmitry Khoma read out the lists of deputies elected to the House of Representatives and the Regional Council. However, he once again emphasized that all information is preliminary. The final election results will become known when the Vitebsk Regional Electoral Commission holds its meeting. It is scheduled for Tuesday evening, February 27. The Central Electoral Commission is expected to compile the results and announce them on Friday.

According to Dmitry Khoma, despite the difficulties associated with holding a unified voting day in our country, electoral commissions at all levels received significantly fewer appeals from citizens this time than during previous electoral campaigns in recent years.

"The regional commission has currently received only ten appeals," he explained. "Three citizens appealed the results of the registration of initiative groups. One citizen asserted his right to register an initiative group in the Vitebsk Regional Court. The court upheld the decision of the regional electoral commission. Two citizens appealed the decisions of electoral commissions (one district, one city) regarding the refusal to register them as candidates for deputies."

Some required clarification on how to vote at their actual place of residence rather than their registered address. There were also reports that voters had not received polling station invitation cards and informational materials about candidates for deputies. However, after verification, two of the three cases were not confirmed.

"These are individual cases that in no way affected the voting results in the Vitebsk Region," Dmitry Khoma stressed.

He highly rated the level of information support for the electoral campaign, the activity of the media and the candidates themselves, the overwhelming majority of whom took advantage of the opportunity to post their programs on the websites of city and district executive committees.

"I believe all citizens had full access to information," Dmitry Khoma noted. "Statements by some voters that they did not know who to vote for today may say more, perhaps, about low electoral culture or a reluctance to learn more about the candidates."

Source: vitebsk-region.gov.by