The Central Election Commission of Belarus has published a list of candidates for the presidential election: self-proclaimed President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, Oleg Gaidukevich, Serhiy Syrankov, Anna Kanapatskaya, and Alexander Khyzhnyak.
This was reported by the Belarusian service of Radio Liberty.
The presidential elections in Belarus will be held on January 26, 2025.
According to the CEC, Lukashenkoʼs candidacy was supported by 2,518,145 citizens, the head of the Liberal Democratic Party Oleg Haidukevych — 134,472, the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party Serhiy Syrankov — 125,577, an individual — businesswoman Anna Kanapatska — 121,077, the head of the Republican Party of Labor and Justice Oleksandr Khyzhnyak — 112,779.
After 1996, elections and referendums in Belarus were not recognized by the international community. Lukashenko may be re-elected as president for a seventh term.
"Iʼll go, Iʼll go, Iʼll go [to the elections]. Tell them [the Belarusian opposition] that Iʼm going! And the more difficult the situation is, the more they strain you, me, and society, the sooner Iʼll go to these elections. Donʼt worry, weʼll do whatʼs right for Belarus," Lukashenko said about his plans to run for a seventh term in February 2024.
Presidential elections in Belarus in 2020
In August 2020, presidential elections were held in Belarus. According to official data, self-proclaimed President Alexander Lukashenko won by a large margin. However, data from observers and the opposition say that oppositionist Svitlana Tikhanovskaya won.
After that, Belarusians called for new elections and took to the streets in large-scale protests. The protests were brutally suppressed by security forces, with the opposition reporting at least eight deaths. Thousands of protesters and opposition figures were convicted, and independent media and human rights activists were also repressed.