Lawmakers in Belarus have scheduled the next presidential election for January 26, a move that is widely expected to extend the long-standing rule of President Alexander Lukashenko. Lukashenko, an authoritarian leader who has been in power for nearly three decades, has faced criticism for suppressing political dissent in the country.
Exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya has swiftly denounced the upcoming election, labeling it as a 'farce.' Lukashenko has already announced his intention to seek a seventh consecutive term, with his last victory in the 2020 election being widely condemned as fraudulent by the opposition and Western nations.
The 2020 election results led to mass protests in Belarus, prompting a violent crackdown by the government, resulting in the arrest and beating of thousands of protesters. Many opposition leaders have been jailed or forced to flee the country in the aftermath of the protests.
According to Belarus' oldest human rights organization, Viasna, there are approximately 1,300 political prisoners in the country, including prominent opposition figures and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski.
While Lukashenko recently released 115 political prisoners, analysts believe this move is aimed at seeking Western recognition of the upcoming election and potentially easing sanctions against the Belarusian government.
The decision to hold the election in January has raised eyebrows, with some analysts suggesting that Lukashenko aims to avoid mass protests by scheduling the vote during the colder months. The absence of international observers in previous elections has also been noted, with Belarus refusing to allow monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to oversee the parliamentary election earlier this year.
Despite the concerns raised by opposition figures and human rights organizations, Lukashenko's government has not indicated whether international observers will be invited to monitor the upcoming presidential election. The lack of transparency in previous elections, including the absence of privacy curtains in voting booths and restrictions on photographing ballots, has raised doubts about the fairness of the electoral process in Belarus.
