Belarus held a presidential election on 26 January in which incumbent Alyaksandr Lukashenka won his seventh straight term. According to the Central Election Commission, Lukashenka won 87.5 per cent of the vote on 85.7 per cent turnout, up from 84.3 per cent in the previous election. The election took place in a repressive electoral and media environment without genuine opposition candidates on the ballot. Sergei Syrankov, who finished second with 3.2 per cent of the vote, endorsed Lukashenka before the election and campaigned on his behalf. Three other candidates received between 1.8 and 2.0 per cent of the vote. Observers have not judged any Belarusian election since 1994 to be free or fair, and no independent election observers took part in this iteration because the Belarusian government declined to invite sufficiently far in advance for observation missions to be organized.  

Sources: Reuters, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, International IDEA, British Broadcasting Corporation 

A decree published by Belarus’ Council of Ministers on 30 December will allow the authorities to remove children from the custody of parents who have distributed “extremist” content, “involved a child in antisocial behavior” or engaged in “hooliganism”. All three charges have been commonly used in political cases since the mass protests which followed the 2020 presidential election in the country and are likely intended to dissuade Belarusians from similar actions in advance of this year’s presidential election on 26 January. The legal definition of extremist content is vague and thousands of web pages are legally classified as such, including nearly all independent Belarusian media outlets and foreign media outlets like Deutsche Welle and the Russian-language Current Time. Children will not be immediately removed from parental custody, but a court order is not required for authorities to do so.

Sources: Pozirk Online, Council of Ministers, OHCHR

Belarus parliamentary and local elections held on 25 February were the first contest since the massive crackdown on all forms of political expression and activism that followed the 2020 elections. Only parties loyal to President Alyaksandr Lukashenka were permitted to participate and local activists reported that public employees were being forced to take part. Nobel laureate Viasna Human Rights Centre said elections were held under “conditions of incessant repression; in the virtual absence of freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association; in a climate of total fear and political purge.” No election in independent Belarus has ever been judged free or fair, and for the first time the country refused to permit international observers to attend.

Sources: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Associated Press, Viasna, Belta, Belarusian Election Commission (Telegram)

Belarus held parliamentary elections on 25 February for 110 seats in the lower house and 12,000 seats on local councils. The opposition boycotted or was refused registration, meaning all 110 MPs are members of parties loyal to President Alyaksandr Lukashenka. 36 of 110 MPs in the incoming parliament are women, down from 44 in the previous parliament. The Election Commission reported 73 per cent turnout, which could not be independently verified. No independent election observers were present.

Sources: Deutsche Welle, Associated Press

New regulations published on 20 November say that Belarusians who plan to leave the country to take up permanent residence elsewhere must now receive permission from the Citizenship and Migration Department before departing. Citizens were previously asked to register at a consulate. Applicants must now also file a wide range of personal documentation, including relatives’ contact details, and officials will check if the applicant is barred from leaving the country for any reason.

Sources: Mediazona Belarus, Belarusian Council of Ministers