At stake in this election:

• The office of President of Belarus

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Aleksandr LUKASHENKO
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Sergei SIDORSKY
• Assembly: Belarus has a bicameral Parliament (Natsionalnoye Sobranie) consisting of the Council of the Republic (Soviet Respubliki) with 64 seats and the Chamber of Representatives (Palata Pretsaviteley) with 110 seats.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by popular vote to serve a 5-year term.
• In the Council of the Republic (Soviet Respubliki), 56 members are elected by regional governing councils to serve 4-year terms and 8 members are appointed by the president to serve 4-year terms. In the Chamber of Representatives (Palata Pretsaviteley) 110 members are elected by universal adult suffrage to serve 4-year terms.

Main Candidates in the Presidential race:

• Alexander LUKASHENKO
  • Party: Independent Candidate
• Alexander MILINKEVICH
  • Party: United Democratic Opposition
• Sergei GAIDUKEVICH
  • Party: Liberal Democratic Party
• Alexander KOZULIN
  • Party: Social Democratic Party

Last Presidential election:

• The last presidential election was held on September 9, 2001. Aleksandr LUKASHENKO was reelected president with 75.6% of the vote against Vladimir GONCHARIK with 15.4%.

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 10,300,483 (July 2005 est.)
• Registered Voters: 7,133,978 (March 2006 est.)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 5,124,448 (2006)

·         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: No

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 32 (as of 2004 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 50 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Very Low (2014)

Disability Data:

·         Is Belarus a signatory to CRPD: Yes (28 September 2015)

·         Has Belarus ratified CRPD: No

·         Population with a disability: 1,545,072 (est.)