Belarus faces another election criticized as a 'democracy insult'
At 8 AM in Belarus, the main day of voting organized by the regime began, during which Alexander Lukashenko, who has been in power for 31 years, seeks his seventh term in office. The opposition calls this vote a "no-choice election" due to the lack of real opponents and any prospects for a democratic process.
Formally, five candidates are competing for the presidency, but all, except for the long-standing leader, merely serve a formal role in the process. Among these "candidates" are leaders of pro-regime parties and Hanna Kanapatskaya, a former member of the now-dissolved opposition United Civic Party (AHP).
Belarusians can vote until 8 PM. No polling stations were opened abroad.
The Belarusian opposition leader, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, stated that neither Belarusians nor the international community will recognize the results of Sunday's "election". The European Parliament has called, in a resolution, for the EU and member states to continue not recognizing Lukashenko as president following the "election," which it deemed "sham."
He'll reappoint himself in yet another sham election. This is a blatant affront to democracy, declared the head of EU diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, on Saturday.
Kallas, the former Prime Minister of Estonia, who has served as the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security since December 2024, highlighted in her post on X regarding Belarus that Lukashenko has been in power for 31 years.
As she emphasized, on Sunday, "he nominates himself for president in yet another rigged election." - This is a blatant affront to democracy. Lukashenko doesn't have any legitimacy, she added.
According to Belarusian electoral law, early voting started a few days before the main day of voting, and regime media report extraordinary citizen activity, claiming that citizens "have gained immunity to destructive influences" and "agree on the direction the country should take."
Demonstrations and arrests after the 2020 elections
In 2020, despite the removal of main opposition contenders through arrests and fabricated criminal cases - such as Siarhei Tsikhanouski and Viktar Babaryka (both currently imprisoned), the election became an opportunity for mass protest against Lukashenko.
At that time, the Belarusian leader, according to experts, underestimated the scale of public discontent and allowed Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya to run in the election. Propaganda attempted to ridicule her by labeling her a "housewife" and a "cutlet fairy" in the eyes of voters. Despite this, according to the opposition and independent calculations (the real results were never disclosed), it was Tsikhanouskaya who won the election. After Lukashenko was declared the winner with 81 percent support, Belarusians took to the streets en masse.
The brutal suppression of protests and violent waves of political repression, unprecedented even for Belarus, led to the dismantling or emigration of political opposition, media outlets, organizations, and social activists, with thousands imprisoned. As noted by human rights defenders, the repression continues even after five years, with 1,256 people currently imprisoned "for political reasons" (which is not the full count).
Following the campaign and brutal reprisals of 2020, Western countries chose not to recognize the officially announced election results, and Lukashenko has not been recognized as the legitimate head of state since then. The West maintains contact with the Belarusian opposition in exile, though its real influence and impact on the situation in Belarus are minimal.
