Vitebsk region has identified candidates for members of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus of the eighth convocation

A total of eight candidates have been nominated. The contenders for the upper house of parliament were discussed at joint meetings of the presidiums of local Councils of Deputies and executive committees.

For instance, Verkhnedvinsk and Polotsk districts voted for the nomination of Ilya Ikan, General Director of Polotsk-Steklovolokno OJSC. The head of the city-forming enterprise has already proven himself as a man of action.

Vitebsk, Gorodok, Liozno, and Shumilino districts may be represented in the Council of the Republic by Gleb Lapitsky, General Director of the State Institution "Center of Culture 'Vitebsk'". In Vitebsk, the candidacy of an experienced manager was proposed – Irina Levkovich, Head of the Main Department of Trade and Services of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee, and a current member of the upper house of parliament.

The candidates also include Natalia Markovich, Chairperson of the Ushachi District Council of Deputies (Glubokoye, Dokshitsy, Lepel, and Ushachi districts); Sergey Meshkoshkin, Head of the Vitebsk Regional Department of the Ministry of Emergency Situations (Braslav, Miory, Postavy, and Sharkovshchina districts). Beshenkovichi, Senno, Tolochin, and Chashniki districts nominated Andrey Sidorov, Director General of VITSTROYTEKMASH Private Unitary Enterprise for Trade and Services. Boris Tikhomirov, Head of the Orsha carriage depot of the Minsk branch of Belarusian Railways Unitary Enterprise, will be able to represent the interests of residents of Dubrovno and Orsha districts if elected, and Elena Furs, Director of the Vitebsk Regional Directorate of the Belarusian Republican Unitary Enterprise of Insurance "Belgosstrakh" for the city of Novopolotsk, will represent the residents of Novopolotsk and Rossony district.

After the candidates are registered with the Central Election Commission, on April 4, elections of members of the Council of the Republic of the eighth convocation will be held throughout the country at joint meetings of deputies of local Councils of the basic level by secret ballot.

The Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus is the chamber of territorial representation and consists of 64 members.

Eight members of the Council of the Republic are appointed by the President of the Republic of Belarus, and the remaining members are elected on the basis of indirect suffrage by secret ballot, with eight members of the Council of the Republic from each region and the city of Minsk at the meetings of deputies of local Councils of Deputies of the basic level of each region and the city of Minsk.

A member of the Council of the Republic may be a citizen of the Republic of Belarus who has reached the age of 30 and has resided in the territory of the respective region, city of Minsk for at least five years.