{"id":122622,"date":"2025-01-21T13:16:35","date_gmt":"2025-01-21T10:16:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/122622\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","slug":"early-voting-begins-in-belarus-presidential-election","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/122622\/","title":{"rendered":"Early voting begins in Belarus\u2019 presidential election"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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January 21, Pozirk<\/em>.<\/strong> The central election commission has announced the start of early voting in the seventh presidential election in Belarus ahead of the main voting day on January 26.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Polling stations will be open from noon to 7 p.m. during the early voting period and from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Authorities claimed a turnout of almost 5 percent on the first day of early voting at the previous presidential election in August 2020. That campaign was marred by fraud and police brutality against peaceful protesters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The current race is taking place in a purged political landscape amid a new wave of crackdown on regime critics with only three months allocated for the whole election cycle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The presidential bidders are Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka, in power since 1994, his supporters Aleh Hajdukievi\u010d, Alaksandar Chi\u017eniak and Siarhiej Syranko\u016d.  Another candidate is Hanna Kanapackaja, a former member of the United Civic Party and an MP from 2016 to 2019, who also ran for president in 2020. She positions herself as a \u201cdemocratic alternative,\u201d yet criticizes \u0141uka\u0161enka’s exiled or jailed opponents rather than himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Authorities seek flattering assessments from election observers, picked from \u0141uka\u0161enka-friendly organizations and pro-government parties. The government has banned independent observation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Belarusian opposition dismissed the election as a sham, noting that political reprisals prevent pro-democracy candidates from running and voters from freely expressing their will.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Belarus has not held a single free and fair election since 1996 by the standards of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Minsk invited OSCE observers late enough to make quality observation impossible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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