Electoral Blocs to Be Banned from Using Names of Parties They Include

Electoral blocs will not be able to use names and symbols that are identical or similar to those of other political parties, including parties inside the blocs. This provision is contained in the draft Regulation on the Specifics of Creating and Registering Electoral Blocs, proposed by the Central Election Commission (CEC) for public discussion, IPN reports. The draft proposed by the CEC states that an electoral bloc is formed on the basis of an agreement between two or more political parties registered with the State Services Agency at the time of entry into force of the act appointing the date of the elections. The party’s decision to participate in the formation of the bloc must be recorded in the minutes approved in accordance with its charter. According to the draft, only members of political parties that are part of the bloc will be able to run as candidates.