MOSCOW, November 18. /TASS/. The parliamentary election held in Belarus on Sunday has shown the total support of the current government, President of the Russian Association of Baltic Studies Nikolai Mezhevich told TASS on Monday.
"The election to the Belarusian lower house of parliament has shown an undisputed victory of those candidates supporting the government on key issues. Supporting the republic’s government means supporting the Belarusian president," the expert said. "The people elected to the parliament are worthy and hardworking representatives of the Belarusian people." He noted that the key legislative initiatives in Belarus come from the office of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko himself.
The expert also noted that Europe’s reaction to the election has been rather blunt. "There was a great deal of skepticism even before the results of the parliamentary election were announced. Minsk should take note of this," Mezhevich said. "This is a tactical election held before the strategic decision, before the 2020 presidential election."
"Currently, there is no need to focus on the recent election in the context of Russian-Belarusian relations, because the key points were heard on Sunday in Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko’s statement," the expert said. "The issue of integration with Russia concerns all Belarusian citizens: those who voted and those who did not." He noted that integration would influence the country’s economy and the standard of living.
Elections to the Belarusian parliament’s lower house were held on Sunday in all constituencies, all 110 members of the legislative body were elected. As many as 513 candidates out of 560 initially registered were vying for seats in the country’s parliament.
Voter turnout was 77.22%, exceeding the 2016 ballot by 3%. None of the opposition was able to gain any seats in the legislature.