Belarus Election Alert #1
The Belarusian Presidential election is gearing up to be an exciting race with mass public engagement and protests across the country against the incumbent President. EPDE cooperates with the joint election observation campaign, the “Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections”. Until the election day on August 9, EPDE will share reports from this observation campaign […]
HRDs insist on immediate release of all activists charged under Article 342 of the Criminal Code
Siarhei Tsikhanouski at an election picket in Hrodna. Photo: tut.by Statement by the human rights community of Belarus on the criminal charges against Siarhei Tsikhanouski and six other participants in the May 29 picket in Hrodna Minsk – June 9, 2020 On May 29, during a picket held in Hrodna to collect signatures in […]
Weekly Report – mass arrests and detentions of opposition activists
In this weekly report, observers from HRDFE report that mass arrests and detentions of opposition activists, including members of Tsikhanouskaya’s nomination group, took place in different cities of the country during the week. Observers also note that the CEC interpreted electoral law selectively in the favor of certain candidates, e.g. complaints filed against Lukashenka’s nomination […]
Weekly report: mass arrests and detentions of opposition activists
Observation of the presidential election is carried out by the Belarusian Helsinki Committee and the Human Rights Center “Viasna” in the framework of the campaign “Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections”. SUMMARY during the period of the report, the registered nomination groups continued to collect signatures to support the nomination of candidates for President of […]
Weekly Report – crackdowns and discrimination against opposition
This week’s observation report states that this year’s campaign is marked by an increase in election-related protests, triggered also by public discontent over the handling of the COVID-19 crisis. Crackdowns and provocations by authorities against activists and members of other candidates’ nomination groups have continued, and observers report an abuse of administrative resources in collecting […]
MEPs ‘deeply worried’ by nationwide crackdown and discriminatory election processes ahead of Presidential election
In a joint statement, MEPs Robert Biedroń, chair of the delegation for relations with Belarus, and Petras Auštrevičius, EP’s standing rapporteur on Belarus, voiced their concerns over the crackdowns on peaceful protesters and civil society activists ahead of the Presidential election and over the discriminatory approach in which territorial election commissions have been composed, with […]
Weekly report: crackdowns against nomination groups and activists
Observation of the presidential election is carried out by the Belarusian Helsinki Committee and the Human Rights Center “Viasna” in the framework of the campaign “Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections”. SUMMARY as compared to the previous presidential election, this year’s campaign, despite the COVID-19 crisis, is characterized by widespread media and street activity of […]
Report on the formation of territorial election commissions
Observers were unable to attend meetings on the establishment of territorial election commissions (TECs), which were livestreamed in response to COVID-19, but were still difficult for observers to monitor due to the poor quality of some of the livestreams. Most TEC nominees represent six pro-government parties and compared to the previous Presidential election the number […]
Persistence of discriminatory approaches in the formation of territorial election commissions
Observation of the presidential election is carried out by the Belarusian Helsinki Committee and the Human Rights Center “Viasna” in the framework of the campaign “Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections”. SUMMARY territorial election commissions (hereinafter TECs) are one of the key instruments in the administration of elections in accordance with the international principles of free […]
Report on the registration of nomination groups
The CEC has registered 15 groups formed to support the nominations of future presidential candidates. However, it came under attack after it turned down 40 applications, mostly by opposition activists associated with former political prisoner Mikalai Statkevich. Well-known blogger Siarhei Tsikhanouski, was arrested and thus deprived of the opportunity to apply for the registration of […]
