Belarus - Presidential Election - 2025
On January 26, Belarusians cast their ballots in a presidential vote. Officially, there were five candidates, but 70-year-old Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, who had ruled the country for more than three decades, was certain to retain his seat. While Vladimir Putin’s Russia tolerated a degree of open dissent, at least until the invasion of Ukraine, Lukashenko was described for many years as “Europe’s last dictator” – a reputation which didn’t seem to faze him.
Significant human rights issues included credible reports of: torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by security forces; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; arbitrary arrest or detention; serious problems with the independence of the judiciary; political prisoners or detainees; transnational repression against individuals in another country; arbitrary or unlawful interference with privacy; punishment of family members for alleged offenses by a relative; serious abuses in a conflict related to Belarus’ complicity in Russia’s war against Ukraine; serious restrictions on freedom of expression and media freedom, including violence or threats of violence against journalists, unjustified arrests or prosecutions of journalists, censorship, and the enforcement of criminal libel laws to limit expression; serious restrictions on internet freedom; substantial interference with the freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of association, including overly restrictive laws on the organization, funding, or operation of nongovernmental and civil society organizations.
There are restrictions on freedom of movement and residence within the territory of a state and on the right to leave the country; inability of citizens to change their government peacefully through free and fair elections; serious and unreasonable restrictions on political participation; serious government corruption; serious government restrictions on and harassment of domestic and international human rights organizations; extensive gender-based violence, including domestic or intimate partner violence; trafficking in persons, including forced labor; crimes involving violence or threats of violence targeting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or intersex persons; and prohibiting independent trade unions and systematic restrictions on workers’ freedom of association.
The law nominally provided citizens the ability to choose their government in free and fair periodic elections held by secret ballot and based on universal and equal suffrage. In practice, however, the government consistently and thoroughly denied citizens this ability by failing to conduct elections according to international standards; falsifying election results; jailing or forcibly exiling genuine opposition candidates; banning independent opposition political parties; and detaining, imprisoning, exiling, or threatening those individuals who sought free and fair elections.
After his election in 1994 to a four-year term as the country’s first president, Alyaksandr Lukashenka steadily consolidated power in the executive branch to dominate all branches of government, effectively ending any separation of powers among the branches. Flawed referendums in 1996, 2004, and 2022 amended the constitution to broaden his powers and further extend his term in office. Subsequent elections, including the August 2020 presidential election, denied citizens the right to exercise their will in an honest and transparent process, including denying freedoms of expression (including for members of the media), peaceful assembly, association, and the ability to seek, receive, and impart information and campaign.
According to independent local observation groups, the 2020 presidential election was marred by numerous abuses, including restrictions on a candidate’s ability to be listed on a ballot (including through arbitrarily detaining and harassing opposition candidates and manipulating laws for politically motivated reasons), the use of administrative resources in favor of the incumbent, the absence of impartial election commissions, unequal access to media, coercion of voters to participate in early voting, nontransparent vote tabulation, and restrictions on independent observers.
Government pressure and retaliation against opposition presidential candidates and campaigns, participants in signature gathering events, and participants in postelection peaceful assemblies continued through the year 2023. This included forced exile, prosecution in absentia, arbitrary arrests and detention, security force violence, lengthy prison sentences, and other forms of intimidation and harassment. For example, on April 6 a Minsk district court convicted political prisoner, 2020 presidential candidate, and leader of the opposition Nasha party Andrey Dzmitryeu on charges of participating in actions grossly violating public order and operations of public transport and sentenced him to a year and one-half in prison. Human rights organizations reported his prison sentence was in response to his participation in peaceful protests following the 2020 presidential election and to prevent him participating in 2024 elections.
On 04 March 2023, authorities enforced the amended electoral code to introduce a range of changes in line with the flawed 2022 constitutional referendum. Human rights experts assessed these amendments limited electoral pluralism and political representation. The changes specified new requirements for presidential candidates, including: a minimum age of 40 (increased from 35), a requirement for residence in the country for at least 20 years prior to elections (increased from 10 years), and a bar on holding or having held foreign citizenship, a residence permit, or any other document conferring a benefit from a foreign state. Violating the law on mass events and participating in unauthorized demonstrations could result in fines and arrests of opposition political parties’ leaders and political activists. Authorities harassed, intimidated, and imprisoned members of opposition political parties during the year. The government also used its monopoly on broadcast media to disparage the opposition, promote pro-Lukashenka parties, and restrict the ability of opposition political parties to publicize their views.
President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko announced 25 February 2024, his intention to participate in the presidential elections in 2025. “Tell them (the opposition - editor's note) that I will go. And the more difficult the situation becomes, the more actively they disturb our society, <...> the more they strain you, me and society, the faster I will go for this election," he said while talking to reporters at the polling station.
According to Lukashenko, now is the moment that his resignation from office would be tantamount to betrayal. He admitted that many people do not like it because he strictly demands the implementation of agreements and decisions made by him. “If they are not implemented, then the entire structure of power will collapse and society will drown. Yes, I understand that,” the Belarusian leader emphasized.
With statements about the transfer of power, by August 2024 Lukashenka was trying to avoid early politicization of society ahead of the 2025 elections. Most likely, the ruling class has chosen one of the most probable scenarios to hold the presidential campaign early — in February 2025. The autocrat is counting on favorable conditions for re-election: prolonged holidays are unlikely to contribute to the activation of society, and winter cold is unlikely to encourage active protests from opponents.
“This desire for power has been driving him for 30 years. It does not let him relax for a second,” Valery Karbalevich, a political observer at Radio Liberty and author of an unofficial biography of Lukashenko, told Al Jazeera. “Power and life are the same thing … and he does not imagine his life without power.”
Born in 1954 in the town of Kopys in northern Belarus, Lukashenko, a self-confessed troublemaker at school, was a Soviet pig farm manager before becoming president. The leader, who at times has made outlandish claims such as vodka and visits to the sauna being able to prevent COVID, is ruthless and distrustful, observers and those who worked under him say.
“This man is capable of giving an order to kill if someone goes against him,” said Pavel Latushka, Belarus’s now-exiled former minister of culture from 2009 to 2012. “I had a conversation with him where he told me directly: ‘If you betray me, I will strangle you with my own hands.’ He later repeated this publicly in a recent [2024] interview with Russian propagandist Vladimir Solovyov.”
The decision of the Belarusian authorities not to invite OSCE participating States to observe the country’s presidential election on 26 January is deeply regrettable and prevents an impartial and independent assessment of the election process, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA) said in a statement 09 January 2025.
“I deeply regret the decision of the Belarusian authorities not to invite OSCE states through ODIHR to observe the forthcoming presidential election, depriving the country’s citizens of a transparent and full assessment of the entire process,” said ODIHR Director Maria Telalian. “This decision underscores the continued lack of commitment by the Belarusian authorities to invite other OSCE states to observe and provide an independent view on whether the elections are held in line with OSCE commitments and international democratic standards.”
ODIHR had made efforts in recent months to engage with the Belarusian authorities regarding the invitation to observe. With election day less than three weeks away, ODIHR has been unable to monitor key stages of the process. “Once again, the Belarusian government has decided to disregard its obligation as a signatory to the 1990 Copenhagen Document to invite observers from other OSCE participating States for its elections,” said OSCE PA President Pia Kauma. “This decision is deeply regrettable. The lack of co-operation from Belarus diminishes the spirit of trust that underpins the OSCE even more and the lack of transparency further undermines faith in the electoral system of Belarus.”
This was the third time since the August 2020 presidential elections that ODIHR has been unable to observe elections in Belarus due to the lack of a timely invitation. All OSCE states have repeatedly recognized the value of ODIHR’s observation and the effectiveness of its comprehensive and objective methodology that is applied in the same way in every country. They have also committed to inviting observers from other OSCE participating States to observe, as well as following up swiftly on ODIHR’s election assessments and recommendations.
After a debate, the European Parliament approved a resolution "The need for action to combat continued oppression and fraudulent elections in Belarus." The vote on the draft resolution took place on January 22: 567 deputies were in favor, 25 against, and 66 abstained. The vote on the document was held taking into account the position of national governments and international organizations, in particular the resolution of the General Conference of the International Labour Organization (ILO) of June 12, 2023 on the measures recommended by the Governing Body under Article 33 of the ILO Constitution for Belarus.
One of the points of the resolution speaks about the persecution of non-state media in Belarus: “As the regime uses anti-extremism laws to hinder the media, with most independent media outlets being labeled “extremist,” at least 45 media representatives detained, around 400 in exile, and others facing harassment and ill-treatment; while independent media outlets such as Belsat, Charter 97, Nexta, Radio Racyja, Radio Svaboda, and others play a vital role in providing essential information and serving as a platform for democratic voices; while the Belarusian authorities use surveillance, online censorship, and disinformation, escalating digital authoritarianism and undermining the prospects for free and fair elections in 2025; while Belarusian propagandists routinely spread disinformation about EU countries and its officials and block access to information.”
It is also noted that after the repressions of the Lukashenko regime, more than 500,000 Belarusians were forced to leave their homeland. The resolution calls Lukashenko's regime "illegitimate, illegal and criminal" and assures the Belarusian democratic community, led by Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, of "unwavering support."
She calls not to recognize the presidential elections in Belarus on January 26, as well as not to recognize the legitimacy of Lukashenko, who illegally holds the position of head of the Republic of Belarus. The document speaks about the persecution of political prisoners in the country, among whom are mentioned the representative of Radio Liberty Igor Losik , the imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski and others. The deputies also call for a response to the arrest and sentence of the representative of the European Union delegation Mikalai Hill .
The European Parliament called for cases against the Lukashenko regime to be considered under universal jurisdiction and, following the example of Lithuania, to file lawsuits with the International Criminal Court, and to support the work of human rights defenders who document human rights violations in Belarus. The resolution emphasized that the Lukashenko regime supports Russian military aggression against Ukraine and calls for looking for loopholes in the sanctions to eliminate them and punish the authorities for complicity in the war.
The document emphasized the need to contribute to the strengthening of Belarusian national identity and the Belarusian language, as well as to combat the distortion and manipulation of Belarusian history, which is taking place at the hands of Lukashenko in favor of Russia. The adopted document condemns the transportation of thousands of Ukrainian children from the occupied territories to Belarus, where they are being Russified and Russian ideology is being propagated among them. The participation of the Belarusian Red Cross in the deportations of children is also condemned.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
