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2025 Belarusian presidential election

2025 Belarusian presidential election
← 2020 26 January 2025
Turnout35.99%[citation needed] (24.01.2025)
 
Nominee Alexander Lukashenko Oleg Gaidukevich Hanna Kanapatskaya
Party Independent LDPB Independent
 
Nominee Sergei Syrankov Alexander Khizhnyak
Party CPB RPTS
Incumbent President

Alexander Lukashenko
Independent



Politics of Belarus

Commonwealth of Independent States CIS Member State

Constitution
Presidency
President
Alexander Lukashenko
Executive
Prime Minister
Roman Golovchenko
National Assembly
National Assembly
All-Belarusian People's Assembly
All-Belarusian People's Assembly
Judiciary
Administrative divisions
Elections
Presidential elections

Parliamentary elections

Foreign relations
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Minister: Sergei Aleinik
flag Belarus portal

Presidential elections are scheduled to be held in Belarus on 26 January 2025 under the terms of the constitution. The president is directly elected to serve a five-year term.

The elections take place in an authoritarian context where the Alexander Lukashenko regime has repressed the political opposition, banned opposition candidates from contesting the election, and banned or repressed independent media.[1] Aside from Lukashenko, there are four candidates on the ballot. Three of them represent pro-government parties and the fourth has been accused by the opposition of being a pro-government stooge.[1]

Background

Mass protests alleging widespread vote-rigging erupted after incumbent president Alexander Lukashenko was declared the winner of the 2020 presidential election. Opposition figure Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya subsequently claimed to have won the election and went into exile.[2][3] Tsikhanouskaya formed government-in-exile institutions consisting of the Coordination Council, created in August 2020,[4] and the United Transitional Cabinet, created in August 2022.[5][6]

On 17 August 2020, Lukashenko stated that the next presidential election could be held earlier than 2025 if a new constitution were to be adopted.[7] Tsikhanouskaya stated that she was ready to lead a transitional government and to hold early elections under international supervision.[8][9] Lukashenko said that he would resign if a new constitution were adopted.[10]

On 23 October 2024, the Central Election Commission of Belarus (CEC) announced that the election would be held on 26 January 2025.[11]

On 6 November 2024, the Viasna Human Rights Centre reported that Belarusian authorities had started a wave of arrests with over a hundred people detained in a week, many linked to online chats, at a time when Belarusian prisons were already overcrowded.[12]

Non-recognition

On 23 October 2024, the same day that the CEC announced the election, Tsikhanouskaya, the United Transitional Cabinet and the Coordination Council stated that they would consider the election to be invalid unless all political prisoners were released, participation by all Belarusians regardless of residence was implemented, and other conditions such as freedom of assembly and equal access to the media were fulfilled.[13][14][15] Tsikhanouskaya later called the vote a "farce" and called for a boycott.[16]

In November, Estonian foreign minister Margus Tsakhna stated that the election would not be recognised by Estonia as it was "organized in an atmosphere of terror and [would] not meet democratic principle[s]". Another ministry official confirmed the non-recognition in December.[17] On 9 January 2025, Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska, Marshal of the Polish Sentate, stated that the Polish Senate would not recognise the election. She stated that the election couldn't be considered free because of the imprisonment of the political opposition.[18] On 22 January, the European Parliament called for the European Union (EU) and EU member states to refuse to recognise Lukashenko as president after the vote, stating that "unlike in 2020 there are only pro forma 'candidates'" apart from Lukashenko and that "the entire Belarusian regime is illegitimate".[19]

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe rapporteur Ryszard Petru said on 24 January that the election was lacking in debate, free choice and transparency, which meant that it "cannot and will not meet internationally recognised standards of fairness and legitimacy".[20]

Candidates

On 25 February 2024, the day of parliamentary elections, Alexander Lukashenko announced his intention to run for a seventh term in 2025.[21] His candidacy, which was submitted by an initiative group, was accepted by the CEC on 29 October. On the same day, the CEC rejected the candidacies of For Freedom movement leader Yuras Hubarevich, citing "violation of the procedure for submitting documents", and Aliaxandar Drazdou.[22] On 4 November, two more candidates were rejected, Diana Kovaleva and Viktor Kulesh, while three other candidates were allowed to begin collecting signatures to support their candidacies, thereby taking the number of candidates with this status to seven.[23] These include Sergei Syrankov of the Communist Party, Oleg Gaidukevich of the Liberal Democratic Party, and former Interior Ministry spokesperson Olga Chеmоdanova.[24] Following the early December deadline to get 100,000 signatures, the CEC said five candidates were approved to stand:[25][26][27]

Candidate Political party Current or former position Signatures

Alexander Lukashenko 		Independent President of Belarus (1994–present) 2,518,145

Oleg Gaidukevich 		Liberal Democratic Party of Belarus Leader of the LDPB (2019–present)
Deputy of the House of Representatives (2019–present) 		134,472
Sergei Syrankov Communist Party of Belarus First secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party (2024–present)
Deputy of the House of Representatives (2019–2024) 		125,577

Hanna Kanapatskaya 		Independent (formerly United Civic Party) Deputy of the House of Representatives (2016–2019) 121,077
Alexander Khizhnyak Republican Party of Labour and Justice Leader of the RPTS (2022–present)
Member of Minsk City Council (2018–present) 		112,779

Campaign

Sergei Syrankov's campaign slogan was "Not instead of, but together with Lukashenko!" In an interview with the BBC, Syrankov said "There is no alternative to Alexander Lukashenko as the leader of our country," adding that "we are taking part in the election with the president's team." He also called Lukashenko the "main Communist" in Belarus. Likewise, Oleg Gaidukevich said "It's obvious that Lukashenko will win".[28]

Opinion polls

Date Agency Viktar Babaryka Alexander Lukashenko Pavel Latushko Valery Tsepkalo Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya Syarhey Rumas Sergei Tikhanovsky Maria Kalesnikava Vladimir Makei Zianon Pazniak Andrey Dmitriyeu Anatol Liabedzka Vladimir Karanik Maxim Znak Veranika Tsapkala Natalya Kochanova Yury Karayeu Kirill Rudy [be] Mikola Statkevich Other
1–10 Nov 2021 Chatham House 19% 27% 4% 4% 6% 3% 3% 3%  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -
30% 30% 11% 8% 10% 5% 8% 8% 4%
23 Jul – 3 Aug 2021 Chatham House 22% 27% 4% 3% 6% 3% 2% 2% 1% 2% 2%  -  -  -  -  -  -  - 1%  -
33% 28% 10% 8% 13% 6% 7% 7% 2% 2% 3% 2%
20–30 Apr 2021 Chatham House 25% 23% 8% 3% 4% 3% 3% 2% 1% 1% 1%  -  -  -  -  -  -  - 2%  -
33% 25% 14% 9% 10% 8% 8% 8% 2% 2% 2% 4%
12 Jan – 8 Feb 2021 Ecoom 2.5% 66.5% 1.3%  - 1.5% 0.4%  -  - 2.4%  -  -  -  -  -  - 4.4%  -  -  - Roman Golovchenko 3.8%, Oleg Gaidukevich 1.9%
14–20 Jan 2021 Chatham House 28.8% 27.4% 12.1% 3.7% 4.0% 4.3% 5.8% 4.2% 2.3% 1.3% 1.3% 0.1% 0.6% 0.3% 0.1% 0.4% 0.1%  - 2.1% Paval Sieviaryniec 1.0%
35.3% 23.9% 18.3% 9.6% 11.2% 7.3% 8.6% 8.2% 4.4% 2.4% 2.1% 0.6% 1.3% 0.7% 0.8% 1.3% 1.1% 0.1% 4.2% Paval Sieviaryniec 1.4%, Maksim Bogrecov 0.4%
13–18 Nov 2020 Chatham House 31.7% 24.2% 14.2% 7.0% 6.2% 4.4% 3.3% 3.2% 1.7% 1.4% 1.0% 0.4% 0.4% 0.1% 0.1% 0.1% 0.1% 0.1%  - Ivonka Survilla 0.0%
38.2% 20.8% 20.3% 12.1% 9.9% 7.2% 5.9% 7.5% 2.5% 2.4% 1.5% 0.7% 0.6% 0.7% 0.5% 1.2% 0.5% 0.4% Ivonka Survilla 0.1%

Conduct

Early voting began on 21 January.[29]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Allnutt, Luke (24 January 2025). "Could Belarus's Presidential Election Be Lukashenka's Last?". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
  2. ^ "Belarus' Lukashenko to Run for Seventh Presidential Term in 2025". Voice of America. 25 February 2024.
  3. ^ "Belarus election: Exiled leader calls weekend of 'peaceful rallies'". BBC News. 14 August 2020. Archived from the original on 19 August 2020. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  4. ^ "Belarus election: Exiled leader calls weekend of 'peaceful rallies'". BBC News. 14 August 2020. Archived from the original on 14 August 2020. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  5. ^ "On Second Anniversary Of Disputed Belarusian Presidential Poll, Tsikhanouskaya Names 'Interim Cabinet'". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 9 August 2022. Archived from the original on 29 October 2022. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
  6. ^ Sieradzka, Monika (8 October 2022). "Belarus opposition leader says her people 'are ready to fight for our country'". Deutsche Welle. Archived from the original on 15 October 2022. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
  7. ^ "Heckled And Jeered, Lukashenka Says New Election Could Be Held After Constitutional Changes". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 17 August 2020. Archived from the original on 12 January 2021. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  8. ^ Teslova, Elena (17 August 2020). "Belarus: Opposition leader says 'ready to lead country'" (PDF). Anadolu Agency. Archived from the original on 1 November 2020. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  9. ^ "Łukaszenka może liczyć już tylko na Putina". OKO Press. Archived from the original on 16 August 2020. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  10. ^ "Belarus president plans to leave job under new constitution". ABC News. 27 November 2020. Archived from the original on 19 January 2021. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  11. ^ "Belarus to Hold Next Presidential Election on Jan. 26". The Moscow Times. 23 October 2024. Retrieved 23 October 2024.
  12. ^ "Belarus cracks down ahead of January election, over 100 people detained". The Kyiv Independent. 7 November 2024. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
  13. ^ Joint statement by the democratic forces of Belarus on the 2025 'election', sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, 23 October 2024, Wikidata Q131857853, archived from the original on 30 December 2024
  14. ^ Jochecová, Ketrin (23 October 2024). "Belarus announces date for Lukashenko's next election win". Politico. Retrieved 24 January 2025.
  15. ^ "Belarus Sets Presidential Election Date for January 2025". EU Today. 23 October 2024. Retrieved 24 January 2025.
  16. ^ "Belarus election is poised to extend the 30-year rule of 'Europe's last dictator'". AP News. 24 January 2025. Retrieved 24 January 2025.
  17. ^ Estonia will not recognize Belarusian presidential elections 'charade', Eesti Rahvusringhääling, 20 December 2024, Wikidata Q131862682, archived from the original on 20 December 2024
  18. ^ Poland will not recognize Belarus presidential election: upper-house Speaker, Polskie Radio, 9 January 2025, Wikidata Q131862725, archived from the original on 23 January 2025
  19. ^ Parliament denounces the upcoming sham presidential election in Belarus, 22 January 2025, Wikidata Q131857947, archived from the original on 23 January 2025
  20. ^ "Belarus' Lukashenko Is a Shoo-In for His Seventh Election as President". The Moscow Times. 24 January 2025. Retrieved 24 January 2025.
  21. ^ "Лукашенко ответил на вопрос, пойдет ли на следующие президентские выборы". Belarusian Telegraph Agency (in Russian). 25 February 2024. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  22. ^ "Belarus commission approves Lukashenko's 7th term bid but rejects opposition candidates". Associated Press. 30 October 2024.
  23. ^ "ЦИК Белоруссии допустил к сбору подписей семь претендентов в президенты". Kommersant (in Russian). 4 November 2024. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
  24. ^ "Belarus' authoritarian ruler will face only token challengers in presidential vote". Associated Press. 5 November 2024. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
  25. ^ "5 Candidates Approved For Belarus Vote Lukashenka Seen Winning Easily". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
  26. ^ "Election campaign-2025: CEC registered 5 candidates for President of Belarus". Belarus 24. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
  27. ^ "The Central Election Commission of Belarus has published the list of candidates for the presidential election — Lukashenko is among them". Babel. 23 December 2024. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
  28. ^ "Belarus election: 'There is no alternative to Lukashenko'". BBC. 25 January 2025. Retrieved 25 January 2025.
  29. ^ "Early voting begins in Belarusian presidential election". The Kyiv Independent. 21 January 2025. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
Quelle: Https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_Belarusian_presidential_election