Supreme Court’s deputy chair vows to punish election disruption attempts

February 16, Pozirk. Belarusian judiciary is ready to ensure the “correct and timely resolution of issues that arise during the election campaign,” Valeryj Kalinkovič, deputy chair of the Supreme Court, has told journalists.

Belarus is entering a new important stage in the run-up to the parliamentary and local elections, he said, noting that authorities are prepared to prevent “attempts of destructive forces” to “disrupt and jeopardize the existence of the Belarusian statehood again.”

In 2023, authorities opened more than 35,600 criminal cases and convicted about 33,700 people, 11.6 percent less than in 2022, Kalinkovič said. Only 47 people were reportedly acquitted.

Belarus will hold elections for the House of Representatives and local councils on February 25 with early voting starting on February 20. 

A total of 265 candidates were nominated for the National Assembly’s lower house election, with an average of 2.4 people running for one of the 110 House of Representatives seats. Not a single opposition candidate was allowed to run, while law enforcers and propaganda workers feature prominently among the potential MPs. The electoral campaign is taking place amid mass-scale reprisals and a political landscape purge.

The country has not held a single free and fair election since 1996, by standards of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Last year, the government decided against inviting OSCE observers.

A few days ago, Mikałaj Karpiankoŭ, deputy interior minister and internal troops commander, announced that Russian Wagner Group instructors may assist Belarusian police in maintaining law and order during the elections.