Draft regulation on the collection and verification of signatures

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s Special Advisor on Elections, Alexander Shlyk, presented a draft resolution on how the nomination of candidates for the new presidential election in Belarus could be organized

You are able to download the draft resolution on nomination of candidates in pdf format. Below is the full text of the draft. The draft has been put up for public discussion and you can comment on it on this page below or write to elections@tsikhanouskaya.org.

DRAFT Resolution

Central Commission of the Republic of Belarus for Elections and National Referendums

On clarifying the application of the regulations

Electoral Code of the Republic of Belarus

on the procedure for nominating candidates to

Presidents of the Republic of Belarus

at the election of the President of the Republic of Belarus

Belarus in 2021

In accordance with paragraph 3 of part one of Article 33 of the Electoral Code of the Republic of Belarus (hereinafter referred to as the Electoral Code), in order to uniformly apply the provisions of Article 61 of the Electoral Code providing for the procedure for nominating candidates for President of the Republic of Belarus, the Central Commission of the Republic of Belarus for Elections and National Referenda (hereinafter referred to as the Central Commission) DECLARES:

Clarify that:

1. Nomination of a candidate to the President of the Republic of Belarus is carried out by collecting signatures of at least 100 thousand voters.
2. Collection of voters’ signatures in support of a person proposed for nomination as a candidate for President of the Republic of Belarus shall be carried out by an initiative group of at least 100 voters (hereinafter referred to as the initiative group) registered by the Central Commission.
3. To register an initiative group, the following shall be submitted to the Central Commission no later than ____ 2021:

1) an application for registration of the initiative group;

2) a list of members of the initiative group with the indication of its leader and coordinators by districts, cities of regional subordination without district division, districts in cities, in the territories of which the collection of signatures will be conducted;

3) copies of passport pages of the person intending to be nominated as a candidate to the President of the Republic of Belarus, confirming citizenship of the Republic of Belarus and registration on its territory.

4. The application for registration of the initiative group and the list of members of the initiative group shall be signed by the person intending to stand as a candidate for the office of President of the Republic of Belarus and shall contain the information specified in paragraphs two and four of part two of Article 61 of the Electoral Code. The list of members of the initiative group shall also be submitted in electronic form.
5. The application for registration of an initiative group and the list of members of the initiative group may be submitted according to the forms approved by the Central Commission as exemplary, or according to other forms, provided that the requirements specified in paragraph two of this resolution are met.
6. When submitting documents to the Central Commission, a person intending to be nominated as a candidate for President of the Republic of Belarus shall present his/her passport. If the documents are submitted by the representative of the said person, he/she shall present his/her passport and a power of attorney certified by notary or in accordance with the procedure provided for by paragraph 3 and part one of paragraph 4 of Article 186 of the Civil Code of the Republic of Belarus.
7. After registration of the initiative group, the person intending to nominate a candidate for President of the Republic of Belarus or the leader of the initiative group shall be issued certificates of members of the initiative group and blank signature sheets for collecting voters’ signatures in support of the nomination of a candidate for President of the Republic of Belarus (hereinafter referred to as the signature sheet) to be handed over to the members of the initiative group.
8. The forms of signature sheets issued by the Central Commission may be photocopied or printed from the official website of the Central Commission on the Internet, while preserving the form and size of the signature sheet form.
9. A member of the initiative group during the collection of voters’ signatures shall present to the voters a certificate issued by the Central Commission and a document with a photograph confirming personal identity.
10. The collection of voters’ signatures in support of persons proposed for nomination as candidates to the President of the Republic of Belarus is conducted from _______ to _______ 2021 inclusive.
11. Citizens of the Republic of Belarus who have reached the age of 18 and have the right to vote may sign signature sheets in support of a person proposed for nomination as a candidate to the position of President of the Republic of Belarus.
12. The signature list shall contain signatures of voters residing in the territory of only one district, city of regional subordination, and in cities with district division – one district in the city.
13. A voter has the right to sign in support of several candidates proposed for nomination as candidates for the position of President of the Republic of Belarus, but only once in support of one same candidate.
14. The signature list shall indicate without abbreviations in the Belarusian or Russian language:

1) with reference to the person proposed for nomination as a candidate to the President of the Republic of Belarus – surname, name, patronymic, date of birth, position (occupation), place of work and residence, party affiliation;

2) in reference to a member of an initiative group collecting signatures – surname, first name, patronymic and registration number of the initiative group;

3) in respect of the voter who is signing – surname, first name, patronymic, date of birth, place of residence, series and number of the passport of a citizen of the Republic of Belarus (details of another document specified in paragraph 22 of this resolution).

15. Information about the person proposed for nomination as a candidate to the position of the President of the Republic of Belarus and about the member of the initiative group collecting signatures must be included in the signature list before the beginning of the collection of voters’ signatures. It is not allowed to submit to the voter signature sheets that do not contain this information.
16. Information about the person proposed for nomination as a candidate to the President of the Republic of Belarus, about the member of the initiative group collecting signatures shall be entered on the signature list by handwriting or typewriting. Information about a voter shall be entered on the signature list only by handwriting. The information about the voter provided in columns 1-5 of the signature list may be filled in by the voter or another person at the voter’s request, including the member of the initiative group collecting signatures.
17. The signature of the voter and the date of its entry in columns 6 and 7 of the signature sheet shall be made by the voter in his/her own hand. The date of signature shall be indicated by the voter in verbal-numeric or numeric form, for example: May 25, 2020, or 25.05.2020, or 25.05.20. Persons who, due to their physical features, cannot put their signature themselves may use the assistance of a representative of their choice. A member of the initiative group shall make an arbitrary record of such a situation, which shall be attached to the signature list, indicating the data of the person who expressed a wish to sign in support of the person proposed for nomination as a candidate for President of the Republic of Belarus, the data of the representative of such person who signed, and the reason.
18. Inclusion of the voter’s data not by handwriting or by pencil leads to the recognition of his/her signature as unreliable.
19. Information about the place of work or service of the person proposed for nomination as a candidate to the President of the Republic of Belarus must contain the full name of the organization which is the main place of work or service and the name of the position held. In case of absence of the main place of work or service, the occupation shall be indicated.
20. When entering information on the place of residence of the person proposed for nomination as a candidate for the position of President of the Republic of Belarus, the name of the region, district and locality shall be indicated (in relation to the City of Minsk and regional centers the region may be omitted, and in relation to district centers – the district).
21. When entering information about voters in column 4 of the signature sheet “Place of residence”, the name of the city, street, number of the house, building, apartment (for citizens living in a dormitory – room number) shall be indicated when collecting signatures of voters in cities, and the name of the district, settlement, street, number of the house, building, apartment (for citizens living in a dormitory – room number) shall be indicated when collecting signatures in village settlements and urban-type settlements. The name of the district, city in the signature list may be indicated once in the first line. The name of the street, number of the building, apartment, room shall be indicated in the signature list if this information is contained in the passport (stamp of permanent residence or registration at the place of residence) or in the certificate of registration at the place of stay.
22. Column 5 of the signature list “Series and number of the passport of a citizen of the Republic of Belarus or details of another document” shall contain the series and number of the passport of a citizen of the Republic of Belarus, or details of a military ticket – for military conscripts, or details of a certificate issued by the internal affairs authorities – for persons who have lost their passports.
23. The collection of voters’ signatures may be carried out in the form of picketing. It is not required to obtain a permit for picketing for the above purposes if it is held in places not prohibited by local executive and administrative bodies.
24. Collection of signatures from military personnel does not require the approval of the commander of the military unit in case of collection of signatures outside the territory of the military unit.
25. When collecting signatures from voters living in the dormitory, members of initiative groups must comply with the internal regulations of the dormitory.
26. When collecting signatures, members of initiative groups shall follow the recommendations of the Ministry of Health on the prevention of coronavirus infection (use of masks, treatment of hands and used objects with antiseptic, etc.).
27. When collecting signatures of voters, members of initiative groups have the right to present and distribute to citizens for familiarization information materials about the persons in support of whom signatures are collected. The production of these informational materials must be paid for from the election fund of the person proposed for nomination as a candidate to the position of President of the Republic of Belarus.
28. The signature list shall be certified by the member of the initiative group who collected signatures: on the reverse side of the signature list, he/she shall indicate his/her surname and initials, put his/her signature and the date of its entry. The absence of a signature is a correctable defect, which the commission proposes to eliminate within a reasonable period of time in accordance with paragraph 32 of this resolution.
29. Signature lists shall be submitted by coordinators of initiative groups in districts, cities of regional subordination, districts in cities to the corresponding district, city, district in cities commissions for the election of the President of the Republic of Belarus not later than _____ 2021.
30. If it is impossible for a coordinator of an initiative group for a district, city of regional subordination, district in a city to submit a signature list to the corresponding commission, signature lists may be submitted by a person nominated as a candidate for the position of the President of the Republic of Belarus or by any member of the initiative group.
31. The district, city and town commissions for the election of the President of the Republic of Belarus shall verify the authenticity of voters’ signatures in the signature lists within ten days. The purpose of verification of signatures is to establish the number of valid signatures sufficient for registration of a candidate. Generally, all signatures submitted to the commission are subject to verification. The commission shall notify the coordinator of the initiative group or other person who submitted the signature sheets to the commission about the time of the verification. Members of the initiative group who collected signatures and observers have the right to be present during the verification.
32. Based on the results of the verification of the authenticity of the data in the signature lists, a voter’s signature may be recognized as reliable or unreliable. If there are doubts about the authenticity of a signature, the election commission shall proceed from the presumption of authenticity. In case of detecting avoidable deficiencies in the signature lists, the members of the initiative group are offered to eliminate them within a reasonable period of time.
33. Following the results of the verification, a protocol shall be drawn up, listing the signatures recognized as unreliable on each verified signature sheet and specifying the reasons for recognizing the signatures as unreliable, with a reference to the relevant paragraph of Article 61 part 18 of the Electoral Code. The protocol shall be communicated to the coordinator of the initiative group or other person who submitted the signature sheets to the commission, who shall have the right to attach written explanations to it.
34. The regional and Minsk city commissions for the election of the President of the Republic of Belarus, if necessary, may verify the authenticity of voters’ signatures in the signature lists within five days. In this case, only signatures previously recognized by a lower-level commission as unreliable may be subject to verification. The purpose of signature verification is to establish the number of valid signatures sufficient for candidate registration. The necessity of verification may be caused only by an application of an initiative group or by the recognition by a district, city or town district commission of more than 15 percent of the total number of verified signatures in the signature lists as inaccurate. The verification shall be carried out in compliance with the requirements of paragraphs 31 and 32 of this resolution.