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Parliamentary elections in Belarus are valid — elections commission

More than half of the electorate has participated in the elections, the commission said

MINSK, September 11. /TASS/. The elections to the lower house of the Belarussian National Assembly are valid, the country's Central Elections Commission said on Sunday.

The elections in the republic are considered valid if in them participate more than half of the electorate.

"As of 14:00 (local time) 52.49% of the electorate have participated in the elections," the Commission said.

A total of 484 candidates compete for 110 seats in the (House of Representatives) for a four-year term. A winner has to receive a majority of the vote.

In its turn chairman of the CIS executive committee and head of the orserver mission Sergei Lebedev said that Parliamentary elections in Belarus are proceeding in a well-organized matter, with no serious violation registered by observers from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

"We are impressed that the election campaign is proceeding in a calm and well-organized atmosphere," he told journalists.

He said he had contacted with Western observers too, including with representatives of the monitoring mission from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). "I was pleased to learn that they also have positive impressions. I would like to wish them to preserve positive impressions tomorrow [when they are to announce their report - TASS]," he said.

Meanwhile, Secretary General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Rashid Alimov also said his delegation of observers has "very good impressions" about the elections. "We see good and positive moods in Belarusian society," he said.

A total of 484 candidates compete for 110 seats in the (House of Representatives) for a four-year term. The elections results will be considered valid if more than half of the electorate vote at the polling stations. A winner has to receive a majority of the vote.

The polling stations will remain open to 8 p.m. local time. Early results may be available the following night.