Belarus parliamentary elections held

RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS - In Brief 28 Feb 2024 by Alex Teddy
On February 26 all the results were announced. Turnout was 74%. Only pro-Lukashenko parties were allowed to run. These included the Communist Party and the Liberal Democrats. Several opposition parties were refused registration for the elections. Some people claim the government pressured them to vote. Public sector workers and university students were the most likely to be coerced. There is now law requiring people to vote. There was tight security. President Lukashenko ordered armed police to patrol near polling station because of the risk of what he called "extremism". Police officers were brought out of retirement to boost numbers. He warned that Western countries are conspiring to organize a coup d'etat. The United States castigated the election as farcical. It claims there are 1,400 political prisoners in Belarus. Lukashenko has been in office since 1994. Along with the President of Tajikistan he is the longest serving president in the former USSR. Lukashenko announced he shall seek re-election in 2025. The 2020 presidential election was widely regarded as blatantly fraudulent. Mass demonstrations seriously threatened his regime. Svitlana Tsihanouskaya claimed to be the winner but has gone abroad where she is feted by the EU. She called for people not to vote in the 2024 parliamentary elections, saying that to do so would be to legitimize a sham.

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