No parties reregistered in Belarus - Justice Ministry

MINSK. May 2 (Interfax) - No Belarusian political parties have been reregistered to date, and the Belaya Rus (White Rus) pro-governmental party is the only one that has met legal requirements, Belarusian Justice Minister Sergei Khomenko said.

"The Justice Ministry has not received documents from parties seeking reregistration. As of now, only one party, the Belarusian party Belaya Rus, has met every requirement of our legislation," the Belarusian state-run news agency BelTA quoted Khomenko as saying on Tuesday.

As reported, the Belarusian Justice Ministry registered the Belaya Rus pro-governmental party on Tuesday. It was established in March 2023 on the basis of the Belaya Rus civil association founded in November 2007.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko signed a number of bills into law in February 2023 to regulate interaction between government agencies (entities) and civil society and to improve approaches to the establishment and activity of political parties.

The law changed the terms for establishing and operating political parties, raising the minimum number of founders (members) from 1,000 to 5,000, and adding the requirement for party branches to be present in all regions and Minsk, as well as in at least a third of districts in each region and at least a third of Minsk districts.

The Belarusian Justice Ministry is due to reregister the existent parties within six months from the law's entry into force, i.e., until September 2023. Parties, which fail to be reregistered and do not self-liquidate, will have their activity terminated by an order of the Belarusian Supreme Court.