Belarus is currently in the middle of huge political unrest as thousands of citizens have flocked to the streets of the country’s capital to protest the result of the 9th August presidential election.
The demonstrations came after long-standing leader, Alexander Lukashenko, won 80% of the presidential election vote. However, the unrest has not been confined just to Minsk, and has spread as far as Brest, Homel and Navapolack. So why are people protesting if the vast majority of votes were in the current leader’s favour?
Lukashenko, a former Soviet collective farm manager, has served as the country’s president since the office’s establishment in 1994 and this will be his sixth consecutive term. At 65 years old, Sky news reported that he presents himself to be a “guarantor of stability, claiming the state looks after most of its 9.5 million people’s needs in the same way as the Soviet Union.”
However, Lukashenko’s leadership has come under huge criticism from the West, with Washington dubbing him “Europe’s last dictator” and White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany stating that the administration is “deeply concerned” by the restrictions placed on Belarusian citizens and the intimidation of other candidates, including “the detention of peaceful protesters and journalists.”
US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, said on 10th August that the election was “not free and fair” and has urged the Belarus government to respect the rights of its citizens.
“The election night was marred with disproportionate and unacceptable state violence against peaceful protestors.”
According to the European Union’s diplomatic service, the EU has “repeatedly expressed its expectations on the proper conduct of these elections, [yet] the election night was marred with disproportionate and unacceptable state violence against peaceful protestors.” In a joint statement released on Monday 10th, High Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell and Neighbourhood and Enlargement Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi revealed that this has “resulted in the loss of life of one citizen and many others have been injured.”
Lukashenko has been accused of heading an authoritarian regime in Belarus where elections are corrupt and the media is not free. Both the EU and US have imposed sanctions on the President and other Belarusian officials for human rights violations in the past, including the active use of the death penalty and intimidation and fear tactics during elections.
Belarusian human rights organisation, Viasna, reported that the 2020 election was held “in an unprecedented atmosphere of fear and intimidations of society” and that “as a result of this repression, more than a thousand citizens were subjected to arrests, while hundreds were sentenced to short terms in prison or fined.” Among those arrested was popular blogger and YouTuber, Sergei Tsikhanouski, who had announced his decision to run for president.
He was detained in early May this year, and other opposition candidates imprisoned in the run up to the elections, including 56-year-old Victor Babariko, have been recognised by Amnesty International as prisoners of conscience.
Following her husband’s arrest, former teacher Svetlana Tsikhanouski announced her intention to run in his place and quickly became the leading opposition candidate in last weekend’s election. She was even endorsed by Valery Tsepkalo and Viktar Babaryka, two prominent opposition politicians who were barred from registering.
Ms Tsikhanouski was forced to go into hiding the night before the election as police detained two senior staffers and seven other campaign members in an attempt to scare the opposition, but she was seen at the polling stations on voting day.
Journalists on the ground in Belarus reported that there were concerns of ballet stuffing during the election, as independent vote monitors were not allowed inside the polling stations. Opposition party platforms such as Telegram, Twitter, Viber and WhatsApp reported problems as well, with Netblocks, a civil society groups, reporting that internet connections had been “significantly disrupted in Belarus amid presidential elections.”
Protests erupted in the country’s capital following the landslide results of the election and have continued throughout the week. Ms Tsikhanouski has labelled the election results as a “sham” and refused to concede defeat.
On 11th August, Lithuania’s foreign minister Linas Linkevicius confirmed that Ms Tsikhanouski was safe in his country after fleeing Belarus. She had submitted a formal demand for a recount of votes to Belarus’ central election commission, however was later told her supports that she had “made a decision” and “must be with [her] children.” She fled Belarus following the government crackdown on the national protests when police deployed tear gas, water cannons, and fired rubber bullets in attempts to disperse crowds.
“Ms Tsikhanouskia posted a video on YouTube where she urged Belarusians to demand official investigations into allegations that Lukashenko has rigged the 2020 election.”
Despite claims that Lukashenko won 80% of the votes and Ms Tsikhanouskia only managed to accrue 10%, she has now led the biggest challenge to the president’s 26-year leadership and has called on supporters to sign an online petition for the recount of votes.
After fleeing to Lithuania over concerns for the safety of her children, Ms Tsikhanouskia posted a video on YouTube where she urged Belarusians to demand official investigations into allegations that Lukashenko has rigged the 2020 election.
“Let’s defend our choice. Don’t stay on the side lines. Our voices need to be heard.”
Kate Goodyer
Featured image courtesy of House of Representatives of Belarus via OSCE Parliamentary Assembly on Flickr.
KateGoodyer
Kate is a Channel 4 trained journalist, graduating from her Masters in Investigative Journalism in January 2020. She is passionate about her field and often reports on human rights issues, in particular women's and LGBTQIA+ rights, and foreign affairs.