Politics

The politics of Belarus takes place in a framework of a presidential republic, whereby the President of Belarus is both head of state and head of government. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of parliament.

Executive Branch

The government is a Council of Ministers, headed by a prime minister. The members of the Council of Ministers need not be members of the legislature, and are appointed by the President.

The last presidential election took place on March 19, 2006. Lukashenko was opposed in the election by Alexander Milinkevich, a candidate representing a coalition of opposition parties and Alaksandar Kazulin of the Social Democrats. Kazulin was detained and beaten by police during protests surrounding the All Belarusian People's Assembly. While Lukashenko won with 80% of the vote, the OSCE and other organisations stated the election was not fair.

Legislative Branch

The bicameral parliament-the National Assembly comprises a lower house, the 110-member House of Representatives, and an upper house, the 64-member Council of the Republic. The House of Representatives has the power to appoint the Prime Minister of Belarus, make constitutional amendments, call for a vote of confidence on the prime minister, and make suggestions on the foreign and domestic policy of Belarus.

The Council of the Republic has the power to select various government officials, conduct an impeachment trial of the president, and the ability to accept or reject the bills passed by the House of Representatives. Each chamber has the ability to veto any law passed by local officials if it is contrary to the Constitution of Belarus.

In 2007, three political parties had seats in the House of Representatives: the Communist Party of Belarus (eight seats), the Agrarian Party of Belarus (three seats), and the Liberal Democratic Party of Belarus (one seat). The pro-Lukashenko parties, the Belarusian Socialist Sporting Party and the Republican Party of Labour and Justice, and opposition parties, such as the Belarusian People's Front(BPF) and the United Civil Party of Belarus (UCPB) did not gain any seats in the 2004 election. The UCPB and the BPF are two of the parties that comprise the People's Coalition 5 Plus, a group of political parties who oppose Lukashenko. Several organisations, including the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), declared the election "un-free" due to opposition parties' negative results and the bias of the Belarusian media in favour of the government.

Judicial Branch

The judiciary is comprised of the Supreme Court and various specialised courts, such as the Constitutional Court, which deals with specific issues related to the constitution or business law. The judges of the Constitutional Court are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Council of the Republic.