{"id":11307,"date":"2021-12-18T14:23:48","date_gmt":"2021-12-18T11:23:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/api.pozirk.online\/longreads\/new-top-election-officer-ex-presidential-hopeful-receives-severe-sentence\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T20:29:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T20:29:13","slug":"new-top-election-officer-ex-presidential-hopeful-receives-severe-sentence","status":"publish","type":"longreads","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11307\/","title":{"rendered":"New top election officer, ex-presidential hopeful receives severe sentence"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n By Valieryj Karbalievi\u010d <\/span>\n<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

\n In the run-up to a constitutional referendum, Aliaksandr Luka\u0161enka dismissed Lidzija Jarmo\u0161yna, a long-serving head of the central election commission, in an apparent bid to improve the commission\u2019s badly damaged reputation. Also this week, a Homie\u013a judge imposed harsh sentences on Siarhiej Cichano\u016dski and his associates. <\/b>\n<\/p>\n

<\/b><\/p>\n

\n

\n Karpienka in, Jarmo\u0161yna out <\/span>\n<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/h2>\n

\n\t Jarmo\u0161yna worked for 25 years to engineer victories for Aliaksandr Luka\u0161enka and government-approved candidates. She was one of the architects of the perfect electoral machine that produced resounding victories for the authorities with unfailing regularity. However, not a single of its polls was found to be transparent, free and fair by observation and rights groups.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t Jarmo\u0161yna had all the establishment support she needed, and was responsible for making the rules and substantiating election results. And she did her job with enthusiasm.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t However, the electoral machine malfunctioned in 2020. Only 11 percent of Minsk residents trusted the central election commission four months before the presidential election, found a poll by the Sociology Institute of the Belarusian Academy of Sciences. As a consequence, most Belarusians and the West did not recognize the official results of the August 2020 presidential race.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t Luka\u0161enka has replaced Jarmo\u0161yna with Ihar Karpienka, a former education minister, hoping that rebranding will help somewhat restore the commission\u2019s diminished reputation.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t But the reshuffle is unlikely to make a difference as long as the system remains the same.\n<\/p>\n

Cichano\u016dski sentence<\/span> <\/h2>\n

\n\t In a separate development, a Homie\u013a judge on December 14 imposed prison sentences of 14 to 18 years on former presidential hopeful Cichano\u016dski, politician Mikola Statkievi\u010d, bloggers Ihar Losik and Uladzimir Cyhanovi\u010d, social media content manager D\u017amitry Papo\u016d, and Arciom Saka\u016d, a member of Sviatlana Cichano\u016dskaja\u2019s nomination group.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t The 173-day trial was held behind closed doors and was the longest political trial in Belarus\u2019 history. The severe sentences were chillingly reminiscent of Joseph Stalin\u2019s terror campaign.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t The defendants were arrested in May and June 2020, roughly two months before mass protests broke out across the country. They were accused of organizing \u201cmass disorder.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\t Cichano\u016dski was given 18 years in prison, probably, because Luka\u0161enka considers him his enemy No.1. Others received severe sentences because they were tried in the same group as Cichano\u016dski.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t Cichano\u016dski\u2019s wife, Sviatlana, has led a diplomatic campaign to secure the release of Belarus\u2019 political prisoners after she was forced to leave the county in August 2020.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t Siarhiej Cichano\u016dski highly energized voters with his sharp-edged campaign notable for personal attacks on Luka\u0161enka. He kept up his aggressive attacks during Luka\u0161enka\u2019s meeting with political prisoners at the Committee for State Security (KGB) detention center in 2020. He also mentioned Luka\u0161enka\u2019s son Mikalaj in his tirades.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t The severe sentences are also in response to Western sanctions. Minsk has made it clear that it will step up harassment of dissidents if sanctions are tightened.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t The trial was also in retaliation for Washington\u2019s tough stance on Belarus. Losik, a journalist of Radio Liberty, a media organization funded by the U.S. government, was given 15 years in a medium-security correctional labor facility. Belarusian authorities have declared RFE\/RL websites and accounts extremist material.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t Minsk is playing the cards that it has \u2013 people\u2019s lives and freedom.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Valieryj Karbalievi\u010d In the run-up to a constitutional referendum, Aliaksandr Luka\u0161enka dismissed Lidzija Jarmo\u0161yna, a long-serving head of the central election commission, in an apparent bid to improve the commission\u2019s badly damaged reputation. Also this week, a Homie\u013a judge imposed harsh sentences on Siarhiej Cichano\u016dski and his associates. Karpienka in, Jarmo\u0161yna out Jarmo\u0161yna worked […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":0,"template":"","rubric":[22],"class_list":["post-11307","longreads","type-longreads","status-publish","hentry","rubric-theviewer"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nNew top election officer, ex-presidential hopeful receives severe sentence | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"By Valieryj Karbalievi\u010d In the run-up to a constitutional referendum, Aliaksandr Luka\u0161enka dismissed Lidzija Jarmo\u0161yna, a long-serving head of the central\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11307\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New top election officer, ex-presidential hopeful receives severe sentence | 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