On July 9th 2012, 110 district election commissions were formed, each consisting of 13 people. 1,430 people out of 2,127 nominees were selected as commission members. Out of 199 people nominated by the political parties in opposition, 48 were included in the commissions (24%). By contrast, the pro-government organisation “Belaya Rus” nominated 117 citizens, 106 (90.5%) of whom became commission members.
The district election commissions were mostly formed of members of pro-government organisations: The Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus, BRSM (Belarusian National Youth Union), “Belaya Rus”, and the Belarusian Association of Veterans. The commissions were formed under control of the executive without public discussion of the nominees. The absence of any formal criteria made it possible to manipulate the procedure of forming the commissions to the benefit of the organisations loyal to the authorities. Representatives of the opposition groups make up an insignificant – disproportionally small – share in the commissions, compared with the number of nominees put forward.