Lukashenko: Early voting turnout during constitutional referendum is high

The early voting turnout during the referendum on constitutional amendments is high, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said at a meeting with the personnel of the Minsk Center of Surgery, Transplantology and Hematology on 25 February, BelTA has learned.

"I did not expect such a turnout. I thought it would be lower," the president said. He noted that, as a rule, citizens in Belarus are more active in presidential election. Aleksandr Lukashenko believes that one of the reasons is the great work carried out in the run-up to the referendum to raise the awareness of people: "Journalists, experts, and specialists did a great job. They traveled all over the country. Television and media worked well in this regard."

"It had an impact. I didn't expect such a high turnout. Sometimes there are even queues during early voting," the Belarusian leader stressed.

As BelTA reported, the turnout in the three days of early voting is 24.07% of citizens included in the voters lists.
The leaders include Gomel Oblast (27.61%), Mogilev Oblast (26.34%) and Brest (25.07%) regions. It is followed by Minsk Oblast (24.23%), Vitebsk Oblast (23.83%), and Grodno Oblast (20.85%). Minsk had the lowest turnout (20.79%).