On 18 February 2018, the local elections in Belarus were over. Independent Belarusian media once again reported high turnout, while voters generally showed little interest. The independent civil society election observation initiative “Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections” even speaks of the “worst and dirtiest elections ever” and points out new methods of electoral fraud during the six-day vote. It urgently calls for a “revival of the Belarusian electoral system”.

During the round-table meeting, organized in Berlin on 14 March by ZOiS and EPDE, the experts of the campaign “Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections” will discuss whether the reanimation of the electoral system can take place before the election in Belarus in 2020 and will look at the challenges of German-Belarusian relations in this context.

Location: Centre for East European and International Studies (ZOiS)

Address: Mohrenstraße 60, 10117 Berlin

Date: 14.03.2018, 11.00-13.00

11.00-11.15 Welcoming speech:

Prof. Dr. Gwendolyn Sasse, Scientific Director, ZOiS

Stefanie Schiffer, CEO of the European Exchange, EPDE Board

11.15-11.45 Brief presentations:

Aleh Hulak, chairperson of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee, Minsk

Uladzimir Labkowitsch, electoral expert, the Human Rights Center Viasna, Minsk

11.45-12.00 Comment:

Oliver Kaczmarek, MdB, Chairperson of the German-Belarusian Society, parliamentary group of the German Bundestag (tbc)

Moderator: Dr. Nadja Douglas, ZOiS

Languages: Russian, German (simultaneous interpretation will be provided)

Please register until 13.03.2018 via borysenko@european-exchange.org

Program