At Stake in this Election:       

• 64 seats in the Council of the Republic – on November 7
• 110 seats in the House of Representatives – on November 17*

* On 5 August 2019, the president called for early elections to be held on 17 November, almost one year before the expiration of the mandates of the current parliament[1].

Government Structure:

• Chief of State: President Aleksandr LUKASHENKO (since 1994)
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Syarhey Mikalayevich RUMAS (since 2018)
• Assembly: The National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus has two chambers[2]:
  • The House of Representatives consists of 110 deputies, all elected by the people of Belarus.
  • The Council of the Republic is a regional representative body with 64 members. Local Councils elect a total of 56 members: 8 in each region and 8 in Minsk. The Belarusian President selects the final 8 members.

Electoral System[3]:

• Members of the House of Representatives are elected for four-year terms across 110 majoritarian districts. The candidate with the most votes is elected. All contests have a participation quota of 50% of registered voters, or the election for the seat must be repeated.
• Local councils of deputies, executive and administrative bodies shall nominate candidates to the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly not later than 8 October 2019 and make organizational arrangements to prepare and conduct the elections to the Council of the Republic[4].

Last Election:

• The current House of Representatives was elected in September 2016 and comprises mostly independent members nominated by groups of voters and affiliated with public associations or labour collectives, with political parties marginally represented.
• Of the 110 seats, 93 members are independent; the remaining members represent the Communist Party (8 seats); Liberal Democratic Party (1); Patriotic Party (3); Republican Party of Labour and Justice (3); and United Civic Party (1).

Main Parties in this Election:

*Most members of parliament are independents.

• Party:  Communist Party of Belarus (Kamunistychnaya Partyia Belarusi)
  • Leader: Tatsyana HOLUBEVA
  • Seats won in last election: 8
• Party:  Republican Party of Labor and Justice (Respublikanskaya Partyia Pratsy i Spravyadivastsi)
  • Leader: Vasil Zadnyaprany
  • Seats won in last election: 3
• Party:  The Belarusian Patriotic Party (Belaruskaya Patryiatychnaya Partyia)
  • Leader: Nikolay Ulakhovich
  • Seats won in last election: 3
• Party:  The Liberal Democratic Party (Liberalna-Demakratychnaya Partyia)
  • Leader: Sergei Gaidukevich
  • Seats won in last election: 3
• Party:  United Civic Party (Abyadnanaya Hramadzyanskaya Partyia Belarusi)
  • Leader: Anatoly Lebedko
  • Seats won in last election: 1
• Independents
  • Seats won in last election: 94

Population and Registered Voters:

• Population: 9,527,543 (July 2018 est.)[5]
• Registered Voters: 6,978,490 (2016 est.)[6]

Gender Data:

• Female Population: 5,095,857 (July 2018 est.)
• Is Belarus a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (17 July 1980)
• Has Belarus ratified CEDAW: Yes (4 February 1981)
• Gender Quota:  No
• Female Candidates in this election: N/A
• Number of Female Legislators: 38 members of the House of Representatives (38%)[7]
• Human Development Index (HDI) Position: 0.808, Number 53/189[8]
• Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Low[9]

Disability Data[10]:

• Is Belarus a signatory to CRPD: Yes (28 September 2015)
• Has Belarus ratified CRPD: Yes (November 29, 2016)
• Population with a disability: 1,438,453 (according to World Health Organization’s 15% estimate)