The two neighbors have been in talks since 1997 over a Union State with a common economic, customs and political space, but the negotiations have been complicated by a host of issues, including energy disputes and a tug-of-war between the leaderships.
"So long as we rewrite laws and alter the legal structure inside each country, the gap between us will continue to widen, and that is great danger," Lidiya Yermoshina, head of Belarus' Election Commission, told a conference on the development of the Union State in Moscow.
Russia recently abolished the 20% threshold for voter turnout, canceled early voting and the "against all candidates" option on election ballots at all levels, but Yermoshina said her country was not ready to follow suit.
"Moreover, I know that some Russian politicians and public representatives are against such amendments," she said.
Yermoshina's counterpart in Russia, Alexander Veshnyakov, has indeed challenged some provisions in the bill, saying it is premature to abolish the turnout threshold.
"The prospective changes include some positive, indisputable proposals, but there are also objectionable provisions, which could be called premature," he said. "The decision to abolish the voter turnout threshold is among those I consider to be premature."
Yermoshina said Russia would have to rescind some of the amendments.
"I think Russia will have to backtrack on some new ideas in its election laws, because they will prove to be unworkable and will alienate people from the electoral process," Yermoshina said.
Belarus' top election official also said another legal discrepancy involved the way parliamentarians came to power in the two former Soviet republics.
"Different methods of electing members of parliament place them in unequal positions from the very beginning," she said.
Parliamentarians in Belarus can be recalled because they are elected by individual voters, she said. In Russia, on the other hand, they are elected on party lists and are accountable to their party or faction rather than voters.
Both Belarus and Russia have drawn Western criticism for allegedly stifling democratic freedoms and pursuing authoritarian rule. The United States has even dubbed President Alexander Lukashenko "Europe's last dictator."
Yermoshina called on Russia and Belarus to harmonize their legislation.
"When drafting a law, we must take into consideration our partner and make sure that it will fit into our common state and legal systems," she said.
Yermoshina said Belarus was ahead of Russia in terms of forming a common legal base for the Union State. "But we cannot rewrite our draft laws every time to suit Russia's volatile election laws," she said.
As part of the unification plan, Russia and Belarus have also been seeking to introduce a common currency but the question of currency issuing centers remains the main stumbling block in the negotiations.
Energy supplies have been the most serious source of contention. Being the sole energy exporter to Belarus, Russia said Tuesday it would cancel privileges for its ally and impose crude export duties of $180.70 per metric ton for the country from 2007.
Belarus, in turn, controls an oil and gas pipeline grid leading from Russia to Europe across its territory - a coveted asset that Russia's energy giant Gazprom is eager to lay its hands on.
Nor have Russia and Belarus agreed on a gas price for 2007. Belarus has been paying a discounted rate of $46.68 per 1,000 cubic meters but Gazprom is now seeking a price of $200 or a controlling stake in Beltransgaz, the pipeline company.
The Supreme State Council of the Union State will meet Friday to discuss the union's budget in Moscow.
