Administrative divisions: 6 voblastsi (singular - voblasts') and one municipality* (harady, singular - horad); Brestskaya (Brest), Homyel'skaya (Homyel'), Horad Minsk*, Hrodzyenskaya (Hrodna), Mahilyowskaya (Mahilyow), Minskaya, Vitsyebskaya (Vitsyebsk) note: the administrative centers of the voblastsi are included in parentheses
Independence: 25 August 1991 (from Soviet Union); the Belarussian Supreme Soviet issued a proclamation of independence; on 17 July 1990 Belarus issued a declaration of sovereignty
National holiday: Independence Day, 27 July (1990)
Constitution: adopted 15 March 1994; replaces constitution of
April 1978
Legal system: based on civil law system
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Aleksandr LUKASHENKO (since 20 July 1994)
was elected for a five-year term by popular vote; election last held
24 June and 10 July 1994 (next to be held NA 1999); results -
Aleksandr LUKASHENKO 85%, Vyacheslav KEBICH 15%
head of government: Prime Minister Mikhail CHIGIR (since NA July
1994) was appointed by the president; Deputy Prime Ministers
Vladimir GARKUN (since NA), Sergey LING (since NA), Leonid SINITSYN
(since NA), Valeriy KOKAREV (since NA), Vladimir RUSAKEVICH (since
NA)
cabinet: Council of Ministers
note: first presidential elections took place in June-July 1994
Legislative branch: unicameral
Supreme Soviet: elections last held May, Nov-Dec 1995 (two rounds,
each with a run-off; next to be held NA 2000); results - percent of
vote by party NA; seats - (260 total) KPB 42, Agrarian 33, CAB 9,
Party of People's Concord 8, UPNAZ 2, SDPB 2, BPR 1, Green Party 1,
Republican Party of Labor and Justice 1, BSP 1, NFB 1, Social and
Sports Party 1, Ecological Party 1, independents 95, vacant 62
Judicial branch: Supreme Court, judges are appointed by the
president; Constitutional Court
Political parties and leaders: Belarusian Communist Party (KPB),
Vasiliy NOVIKOV, Viktor CHIKIN, chairmen; Agrarian Party, Semen
SHARETSKIY; Civic Accord Bloc (CAB); Party of People's Concord,
Gennadiy KARPENKO; Party of All-Belarusian Unity and Concord
(UPNAZ), Dmitriy BULAKOV; Belarusian Social-Democrat Hramada (SDBP),
Alex TRUSOV; Belarusian Patriotic Movement (BPR), Anatol
BARANKEVICH; Green Party of Belarus, Mikalay KARTASH; Republican
Party of Labor and Justice, Anatol NETSILKIN; Belarus Peasants
(BSP), Yevgeniy LUGIN, chairman; Belarusian Popular Front (NFB),
Zenon POZNYAK, chairman; Belarusian Social Sports Party, Vladimir
ALEKSANDROVICH; Ecological Party, Aleksiy MIKULICH; National
Democratic Party of Belarus (NDPB), Victor NAVUMENKA; United
Democratic Party of Belarus (ADPB), Aleksandr DOBROVOLSKIY;
Belarusian Socialist Party (SPB), Vyacheslav KUZNETSOV; Slavic
Assembly (SAB), Nikolai SYARECHEV; Liberal-Democratic Party (LDPB),
Vasil KRIVENKA; Belarusian Christian-Democratic Unity (BKDZ), Petr
SILKO; Polish Democratic Union (PDZ), Konstantin TARASEVICH; Party
of Beer Lovers, Yuriy GONCHAR; Belarusian Labor Party (BPP),
Aleksandr BUKHVOSTOV