Opposition members were not elected to the lower house of the Belarusian parliament, the House of Representatives, the central election commission of the republic said on Monday
MINSK (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th November, 2019) Opposition members were not elected to the lower house of the Belarusian parliament, the House of Representatives, the central election commission of the republic said on Monday.
The elections to the lower house were held November 17 in 110 one-mandate electoral Constituencies. According to provisional figures provided by the Central Commission, the voter turnout was 77.22 percent.
Members of the Belarusian Patriotic Party, the Republican Party of Labor and Justice, the Liberal Democratic Party of Belarus and the Belaya Rus public association will form the new lower house of parliament. These parties are not considered opposition as they support the president and the governments' policies. The Belarus parliament is formed by several smaller parties. As such, there is no ruling party in the country, and President Alexander Lukashenko himself has been party-less since 1992.
Two opposition members were in the previous House of Representatives.
On Sunday, the president said that the new parliament should work in the interests of citizens to maintain independence and sovereignty. He added that he was indifferent to the election of opposition members to parliament because even if they were to be elected, they would not define the politics of parliament or, more importantly, of the country.
The newly elected lower house of parliament is set to convene for the first time on December 6.
