Lower chamber approves political parties’ bill

January 25, BPN. The House of Representatives, the lower house of the Belarusian National Assembly, has passed amendments to legislation governing political parties on two readings given on the same day, its press office reported.

Alaksandr Łukašenka can sign it into law after approval by the upper chamber.

If adopted, the new legislation would require all existing political parties to undergo the new registration procedure within six months.

The amendments would raise the minimum membership required to register a political party to 5,000. Parties would be required to have chapters in each region and in Minsk, including in at least one-third of districts and cities in all regions and in one in three Minsk districts.

Parties would be allowed to receive funding from the national and local budgets, with individual donations limited to 1,000 times the base rate. The upper limit on individual donations would currently 37,000 rubels or over $14,000 annually.

A party would be dissolved if it promotes war, terrorist, extremist or other illegal activities harming state and public interests, or if it receives foreign funding.

Amendments to public associations’ law require associations to set up chapters in all regions and Minsk and allow associations, among other things, to submit registration documents electronically.

Human rights groups and the opposition fear that Belarus’ opposition parties will be outlawed as a result of the re-registration campaign.