As stated in the previous blog post, protests have been commonplace for the better part of a year. What sparked the protests to become a widespread national phenomenon in Belarus is the results of the presidential election. In this election, Lukashenko won 80% of the vote, far ahead of the largest opposition candidate, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who won 10% of the vote. These results are very similar to the results of past Belarusian elections. In the first election for Belarus as a country independent from the USSR, Lukashenko, being a political outsider that was not part of the socialist regime, garnered 47% of the vote in the first round of voting. In the second round, where all candidates except for Lukashenko and one other were eliminated, he garnered 80% of the vote. This first election is considered to be largely free and fair. In the subsequent elections in 2001, 2006, 2010, and 2015, Lukashenko earned roughly 80% of the vote with no opposition candidate obtaining more than 15% of the vote according to the Central Election Commission.
Woman voting in the 2020 election
Despite the authorization of the Central Election Commission for every election, there is much doubt as to whether Lukashenko has actually won six presidential elections. The first severe allegations of voter fraud appeared in the second presidential election in 2001. Due to Lukashenko's policies of closer ties with Russia and the reinstitution of some Soviet symbols, his popularity decreased. His claims of a victory of 75% of the vote was refuted by the opposition with a belief of Lukashenko winning 47% percent of the vote compared to the next largest candidate winning 42% of the vote. Similar allegations continued across every election, but Lukashenko remained as the internationally recognized president of Belarus. Before the 2020 election, Lukashenko's popularity plummeted, largely due to his handling of the Coronavirus. Despite this, the Central Election Commission stated that he had won by a landslide victory of 80% of the vote. The largest opposition candidate, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, refutes this and instead asserts that she won at least 60% percent of the vote. There have been significant efforts to transition Belarus to a more democratic country away from Lukashenko, but these efforts have been met by resistance from the government. This resistance by the government as well as the widely accepted idea of widespread electoral fraud exasperated the protests already starting and has led to many nations, including the US, to rescind their recognition of Lukashenko as the president.
Святлана Ціханоўская
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya
Tsikhanouskaya meeting with President Biden
Mikhail Bushuev. “Belarus Protests One Year on: Lukashenko in Command and Striking Back.” Deutsche Welle. August 8, 2021.
https://www.dw.com/en/belarus-protests-one-year-on-lukashenko-in-command-and-striking-back/a-58793285.
Kostya Manenkov. "Belarus poll workers describe fraud in Aug. 9 election." AP News. September 1, 2020.
https://apnews.com/article/international-news-ap-top-news-europe-72e43a8b9e4c56362d4c1d6393bd54fb.
"Belarus election: Opposition disputes Lukashenko landslide win." BBC News. August 10, 2020.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-53721410.
Tony Wesolowsky. "Elections In Belarus: How Lukashenka Won And Won And Won And Won And Won." RFE/RL. August 5, 2020.
https://www.rferl.org/a/elections-in-belarus-how-lukashenka-won-and-won-and-won-and-won-and-won-/30767860.html.
David Lawler. "U.S. no longer recognizes Lukashenko as legitimate president of Belarus." Axios News. September 20, 2020.
https://www.axios.com/us-lukashenko-president-belarus-353ed235-98f7-446f-919a-6a6cdab81975.html.
Sergei Grits. “Belarus Election Fraud.” AP Images. August 9, 2020.
https://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Belarus-Election-Fraud/70636dad460446d0bebe26804527b032.
"Alexander Lukashenko (2020-09-03) 01(cropped)." Wikipedia Commons. September 16, 2021.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Alexander_Lukashenko_(2020-09-03)_01(cropped).jpg.
"Svjatlana Cichanouská, Praha 7.6.2021." Wikipedia Commons. June 7, 2021.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Svjatlana_Cichanousk%C3%A1,_Praha_7.6.2021.jpg.
"President Joe Biden and Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya." Wikipedia Commons. July 28, 2021.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:President_Joe_Biden_and_Sviatlana_Tsikhanouskaya.jpg.
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Belarus' story with democracy seems very sad. It seems to be bad luck that the people elected an authoritarian to power in the beginning. To what extent is Russia involved in Belarus' politics? I am aware that Belarus is in Russia's sphere of influence, but is Lukashenko directly supported by Russia?
ReplyDeleteHey Mason! I really enjoyed reading your article on the recent political events occurring in Belarus. I also find it especially interesting how the government of Belarus has maintained its hold on power despite the numerous protests and declining international popularity. My article, which explored the genre of Russian hip hop and rap, also relates to current political events in Russia. For example, Vladimir Putin, the leader of Russia, and Alexander Lukashenko have both remained in power for a fairly long amount of time in their respective countries. Recent events, such as the Coronavirus for Belarus and the rapid increase in popularity in hip hop music in Russia, have threatened the political power of both leaders. Furthermore, some Russian hip hop songs convey political themes and messages as well. However, while protests against the government have become quite common in Belarus, some Russian hip hop artists show support for Vladimir Putin through their music and through direct collaborative projects with Putin himself. This was a fantastic article, and I can't wait to hear more about Belarus in the next blog post!
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