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- On defense of publicity: observers from 40 countries will be present at the elections in Belarus
On defense of publicity: observers from 40 countries will be present at the elections in Belarus
The state system of Belarus is prepared for a quiet election, deputy of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of the Republic, member of the Standing Committee on International Affairs Alexander Shpakovsky told "Izvestia". This year's presidential election in Belarus will be watched by more than 400 people from the CIS, EU, Africa and Asia. Early voting has already begun - the main voting will be held on January 26. At the same time, the police has been transferred to a reinforced mode of work, as the republic claimed about possible provocations. About the preparation for voting in Belarus - in the material of "Izvestia.
Preparations for the presidential election in Belarus
January 26 in Belarus will be held the seventh presidential election in history. The incumbent president of the republic, Alexander Lukashenko, who has been in office since 1994, is a candidate for the post of the head of state. Among his rivals are chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party, MP Oleg Gaidukevich, chairman of the Republican Party of Labor and Justice Alexander Khizhnyak, first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party Sergei Syrankov and businessman Anna Kanopatskaya.
President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko
At the same time, by the beginning of the election campaign there were fewer people willing to continue the presidential race. Two candidates - Sergei Bobrikov and Olga Chemodanova - withdrew from the race in one day. Both said they had listened to the public demand for consolidation around Alexander Lukashenko.
Over 6.9 million Belarusians will be able to participate in the elections. The country has organized 5,325 polling stations for voting. Of them, 207 - in hospitals, sanatoriums, rest homes and other health care organizations. However, voting will be held at these polling stations only on January 26.
Early voting is also underway in the republic, which began on January 21 and will last until January 25. It is organized for those who cannot come to the polling stations on the main election day. During the first two days, 17.67% of the total number of citizens included in the voting lists used this opportunity. At the same time, in the 2020 presidential elections, only 4.98% of the citizens came to the polling stations on the first day of early voting.
It is worth noting that this time there will be no polling stations abroad. "This is due to the lack of security measures at the polling stations, which were previously established on the territory of other states, as well as the reduction of the number of employees of the diplomatic corps in some countries", - explained the chairman of the Central Election Commission of the Republic Igor Karpenko.
Thus, six polling stations will be opened for the citizens of the republic, living outside its borders on the territory of Belarus: in each regional center and in Minsk.
International observers at the elections
International observers have already arrived in Belarus. In total, according to the CEC on January 22, 474 people from more than 40 countries have been accredited. According to CEC Secretary Elena Baldovskaya, observers will come from the CIS, European Union, Africa and Asia. Specialists have already noted the activity of voters even in early voting.
The CIS observer mission started monitoring the situation in Belarus on December 18. It consists of 40 long-term observers (that is, those who have been working since the date of the elections): mainly employees of the CIS Executive Committee, diplomats. CIS observers have visited all regions of the republic, said the CIS Secretary General and head of the observer mission of the organization, Sergei Lebedev, on January 23.
The entire state system of Belarus is prepared for a calm election in accordance with the national legislation, emphasized "Izvestia" deputy of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly, member of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs Alexander Shpakovsky.
At the same time, there will be no observers from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) at the presidential election. In fact, there were none at the last parliamentary elections. The Belarusian Foreign Ministry sent an invitation to the bureau, but they refused to participate. "The late invitation from Belarus just 10 days before the presidential election does not allow the ODIHR to get access to the key stages of the electoral process, which makes it impossible for a full-fledged observation," explained the organization.
Earlier, CIS Secretary General Sergei Lebedev said that the approach of Western representatives to the observation of the previous Belarusian elections was clearly biased - the application of double standards is evident. It should be noted that the Russian Foreign Ministry also pointed to the bias of the OSCE ODIHR observers.
What the Belarusian society wants
This year, Belarus paid special attention to security measures before the elections. Thus, since January 20, the personnel of internal affairs bodies and troops have been transferred to a reinforced version of duty, while operational-situation headquarters are functioning at all levels to coordinate their actions. In November 2024, the services conducted a series of exercises to guarantee the safety of citizens. In addition, polling stations in the republic will be equipped with panic buttons and video surveillance systems, and since January 20, they have been under round-the-clock protection. Additional outfits will be on duty on the territory adjacent to the polling stations.
Obviously, this is done in order not to repeat the scenario after the previous vote. In August 2020, the elections were marked by protests after the official announcement of the results. Then Alexander Lukashenko won, while the second place went to Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who did not recognize the results and left the country. This time, to ensure security, Lukashenko is ready to involve the military in case of unrest. "Where necessary, the police, where necessary, the military boldly involve. So that there is order," he said.
This time the domestic political situation in the republic is radically different from the situation in 2020, Shpakovsky said. If there is discontent among the population, it is caused by socio-economic or localized issues.
- It is mostly qualitative information and awareness-raising work on the part of the state, as well as citizens' realization of the value of stable sovereign peaceful development in contrast to the events taking place in Ukraine. And in general, according to our observations, both political and information culture of the Belarusian society have grown significantly," he says.
There are no prerequisites for protest moods, explained Belarusian political scientist Piotr Petrovski to "Izvestia. The current international situation, directly related to the region around Belarus, has led to the society's demand for stability, peace and security. Even critics of the current political model in the country also believe that it is necessary to work in the context of peace and security and to avoid provocations.
It is worth noting that the CEC of Belarus did not rule them out. "Let it be on the conscience of those destructive forces that are trying to somehow influence [the electoral process]. It's clear that we will not block the Internet, some sources of information - we have an open democratic country and everyone draws information from the source from which he considers necessary," commented CEC head Igor Karpenko.
Moreover, the coordinator of the pro-Russian Nikolaev resistance Sergei Lebedev stated about the plans of the SBU to organize provocations in Russia on the day of the presidential election in Belarus.
- One should realize that the international situation, including around Belarus, is restless, the challenges from Ukraine and the collective West are not canceled. The West makes sharp and absolutely groundless statements about non-recognition of the results even before the completion of the election process," says Alexander Shpakovski.
By the way, January 22, the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling not to recognize the results of the elections in Belarus and to impose new sanctions against the authorities of the republic.
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