House of Representatives of Belarus
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Under the 1996 Constitution, the House of Representatives (Palata Predstavitelei) is the lower house of the parliament of Belarus.
It consists of 110 deputies elected on the basis of universal, equal, free, and direct electoral suffrage by secret ballot (art. 91). It is a majoritarian system, with the outcome decided by overall majorities in single-member constituencies. Any citizen of 21 years is eligible for election (art. 92). The functions of the House are to consider draft laws and the other business of government; it must approve the nomination of a prime minister (art. 97); and it may deliver a vote of no confidence on the government (art. 97).
The upper house is the Council of the Republic.
[edit] Powers
Bills adopted by the House of Representatives are being sent to the Council of the Republic for consideration within five days, where they are considered within no more than twenty days.
Special powers that accorded only to the House of Representatives are:
- consider draft laws put forward by the President or submitted by no less than 150 thousand citizens of the Republic of Belarus, who are eligible to vote, to make amendments and alterations in the Constitution and give its interpretation
- consider draft laws, including the guidelines of the domestic and foreign policy of the Republic of Belarus; the military doctrine; ratification and denunciation of international treaties;
- call elections for the Presidency;
- grant consent to the President concerning the appointment of the Prime minister;
- consider the report of the Prime minister on the policy of the Government and approve or reject it; a second rejection by the House of the policy of the Government is an expression of non-confidence to the Government;
[edit] Speakers of the House of Representatives
- Anatoly Malofeyev November 28, 1996–November 21, 2000
- Vadim Popov November 21, 2000–November 16, 2004
- Vladimir Konoplev November 16, 2004–October 2, 2007
- Vadim Popov October 2, 2007–Present
[edit] Composition
| Parties | Votes | % | Seats |
|---|---|---|---|
| Communist Party of Belarus (Kamunistyčnaja partyja Biełarusi) | . | 8 | |
| Agrarian Party of Belarus (Ahrarnaja partyja Bełarusi) | . | 3 | |
| Liberal Democratic Party of Belarus (Liberalna-demakratyčnaja partyja Biełarusi) | . | 1 | |
| Non-partisans (worker's collectives, public associations and civil society organizations) | . | 98 | |
People's Coalition 5 Plus (Narodnaja kaalicyja "Piaciorka plus")
|
. | - | |
Democratic Centrist Coalition (Kaalicyja demakratyčnych centrystaŭ)
|
. | - | |
| Conservative Christian Party (Kansiervatyŭnaja chryścijanskaja partyja) | . | - | |
| Social Democratic Party of Popular Accord (Sacyjal-demokratyčnaja partyja "Narodnaja zhoda") | . | - | |
| Belarusian Socialist Sporting Party (Biełaruskaja sacyjalistyčnaja spartyŭnaja partyja) | . | - | |
| Republican Party of Labour and Juctice (Respublikanskaja partyja pracy i spraviadlivasci) | . | - | |
| Total (turnout 90.1 %) | 6,096,138 | 110 | |
| Registered electors | 6,986,163 | ||
| Blank or invalid ballot papers | 201,462 | ||
| Source: IPU Parline. | |||
These elections fell according to the OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission [1] significantly short of OSCE commitments. Universal principles and constitutionally guaranteed rights of expression, association and assembly were seriously challenged, calling into question the Belarusian authorities’ willingness to respect the concept of political competition on a basis of equal treatment. According to this mission principles of an inclusive democratic process, whereby citizens have the right to seek political office without discrimination, candidates to present their views without obstruction, and voters to learn about them and discuss them freely, were largely ignored.
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