House of Representatives of Belarus
| House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus Палата Прадстаўнікоў Нацыянальнага сходу Рэспублікі Беларусь | |
|---|---|
| National Assembly of Belarus | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 110 |
 | |
Political groups | |
| Elections | |
| First-past-the-post | |
Last election | 2012 |
| Meeting place | |
 The House of Government | |
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| This article is part of a series on the politics and government of Belarus |
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Under the 1996 Constitution, the House of Representatives (Belarusian: Палата Прадстаўнікоў, Palata Pradstawnikow, Russian: Палата Представителей, Palata Predstaviteley) is the lower house of the parliament of Belarus.
It consists of 110 deputies elected on the basis of universal, equal, free, and direct electoral suffrage by secret ballot (art. 91). It is a majoritarian system, with the outcome decided by overall majorities in single-member constituencies. Any citizen of 21 years is eligible for election (art. 92). The functions of the House are to consider draft laws and the other business of government; it must approve the nomination of a prime minister (art. 97); and it may deliver a vote of no confidence on the government (art. 97).
The upper house is the Council of the Republic.
Powers
Bills adopted by the House of Representatives are being sent to the Council of the Republic for consideration within five days, where they are considered within no more than twenty days.
Special powers that accorded only to the House of Representatives are:
- consider draft laws put forward by the President or submitted by no less than 150 thousand citizens of the Republic of Belarus, who are eligible to vote, to make amendments and alterations in the Constitution and give its interpretation
- consider draft laws, including the guidelines of the domestic and foreign policy of the Republic of Belarus; the military doctrine; ratification and denunciation of international treaties;
- call elections for the Presidency;
- grant consent to the President concerning the appointment of the Prime minister;
- consider the report of the Prime minister on the policy of the Government and approve or reject it; a second rejection by the House of the policy of the Government is an expression of non-confidence to the Government.
In practice, the House of Representatives has little real power. Notably, it has little control over government spending; it cannot pass a law to increase or decrease the budget without presidential consent. It has been dominated by supporters of President Alexander Lukashenko since its inception. The Belarusian political system concentrates nearly all decision-making power in the president's hands, and there is almost no opposition to executive decisions.
Speakers of the House of Representatives
| Name | Entered Office | Left Office |
|---|---|---|
| Anatoly Malofeyev | December 28, 1996 | November 21, 2000 |
| Vadim Popov | November 21, 2000 | November 16, 2004 |
| Vladimir Konoplev | November 16, 2004 | October 2, 2007 |
| Vadim Popov | October 2, 2007 | October 27, 2008 |
| Vladimir Andreichenko | October 27, 2008 | Present |
Fraction
(2012 5th convocation).
| Fraction | Number of Deputies |
|---|---|
| Independent | 105 |
| Communist Party of Belarus | 3 |
| Republican Party of Labour and Justice | 1 |
| Agrarian Party | 1 |
Members (since 1990)
- List of Members of the Belarusian Parliament, 1990–95
- List of members of the House of Representatives of Belarus, 1995–2000
- List of members of the House of Representatives of Belarus, 2000–2004
- List of members of the House of Representatives of Belarus, 2004–2008
- List of members of the House of Representatives of Belarus, 2008–2012
- List of members of the House of Representatives of Belarus (current)
References
See also
- Parliament of Belarus
- Council of the Republic of Belarus
- Politics of Belarus
- List of legislatures by country
External links
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