There are 591 nominees of political parties among those who have applied for access to the ballot in the forthcoming local elections, Lidziya Yarmoshyna, head of the central election commission, told reporters in Minsk on Wednesday.
The contenders nominated by political parties account for 2.3 percent of the total number compared with 1.2 percent in the previous local elections, held in January 2007, Ms. Yarmoshyna said.
According to her, opposition parties account for more than half of all nominees of parties among the contenders. In particular, 126 contenders were nominated by the "Spravedlivy Mir" (Just World) Belarusian Party of the Left; 94 by of the United Civic Party; 35 by of the Belarusian Popular Front; 32 by the Hramada Belarusian Social Democratic Party; five by the Belarusian Party of Greens; and two by the Belarusian Social Democratic Hramada.
As for other parties, the Communist Party of Belarus is represented by 207 contenders, the Liberal Democratic Party by 61, the Party of Labor and Justice by 18, the Belarusian Agrarian Party by seven, the Belarusian Social and Sports Party by two, and the Republican Party and the Belarusian Patriotic Party by one contender each.
A total of 25,474 people have been applied for access to the ballot in the April 25 elections. The deadline for nominating candidates was March 15, while the candidate registration process will take place between March 16 and March 25.
