MINSK, January 21. /TASS/. The voter turnout on the first day of early voting in the presidential election in Belarus totaled 7.81%, the republic's Central Election Commission (CEC) said on its Telegram channel.
According to the CEC, 8.95% of citizens cast their ballots in the Brest Region, 7.45% in the Vitebsk Region, 7.01% in the Gomel Region, 6.08% in the Grodno Region, 8.52% in the Minsk Region, 7.25% in the Mogilev Region, and 8.54% in Minsk.
The Belarusian CEC also reported that over 44,000 national observers are overseeing the voting.
In the 2020 presidential election, voter turnout reached 4.98% on the first day of early voting.
Early voting will continue until January 25 inclusive, while the main voting day is scheduled for January 26.
Five candidates are vying for the post of head of state, including incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko, who has led Belarus since 1994. His rivals are the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party Oleg Gaidukevich, entrepreneur Anna Kanopatskaya, first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party Sergey Syrankov, and leader of the Republican Party of Labor and Justice Alexander Khizhnyak.
More than 6.9 mln Belarusian voters are eligible to participate in these elections.