Parliamentary elections in Belarus are held without opposition
February 25, 2024
Parliamentary elections take place in Belarus on Sunday, February 25, in which opposition representatives are not allowed to participate and in which there are no Western observers. This is the first vote in the country since the 2020 presidential elections, which sparked mass protests due to widespread fraud and irregularities. The results of these elections were not recognized by Western countries and the protests were brutally repressed by the authorities.
Belarusian citizens will have to elect the House of Representatives and local councils. There are 265 people competing for 110 seats in the Chamber of Deputies. The parliamentary campaign includes candidates from four political parties: the Belaya Rus organization, created in 2023 and working in support of the country’s ruler, Alexander Lukashenko, the Communist Party, which has existed since 1996, the Republican Party of Labor and Justice (RPTS) , which supports Lukashenko, and the Liberal Democratic Party (LDPB), which calls itself a “constructive opposition” movement.
The opposition called for ignoring the elections
The leader of the Belarusian opposition, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, called the current elections “a military operation against her own people” and called for them to be ignored. “The so-called regime elections in Belarus today do not meet any democratic standards and are more like a military operation against its own citizens, the constitution and common sense. I call on Belarusians and the international community to categorically reject this deception” , said Tikhanovskaya. she said.
Lukashenko said he will run for elections in 2025
Lukashenko told reporters at the polling station that no one could unseat him. “None of their options, even the most radical ones, will work in Belarus. We know how to draw conclusions from our previous mistakes. Therefore, they have nothing to hope for,” he said.
Furthermore, Lukashenko confirmed that he intends to run again for president in 2025 – for the eighth consecutive term. “I will, I will, I will. Tell them I will,” he emphasized.
Source: DW
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