The international observers monitoring the parliamentary elections in Belarus present their preliminary post-election statement at a news conference in Minsk. The international observation is a common endeavour involving the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights and the Parliamentary Assembly. This common endeavour comprises some 330 accredited observers from 37 countries, including 48 long-term observers and experts, some 200 short-term observers, as well as more than 70 parliamentarians and staff from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly. The live broadcast is now over.
Today's parliamentary elections are the simplest for Belarusian election committees. Because the majority of the opposition has boycotted the elections, the election committees have almost no need to rig the votes. In any event, when neither the observers nor even individual members of election committees have access the final count - it is difficult to have unexpected results. The elections in Belarus last paradoxically long – for 6 days -- for two main reasons. First, the authorities get time to increase the turnout under threats of dismissal, problems at educational institutions or eviction from dormitories. Second, such a prolonged snap poll gives them enough time to falsify the results.The author has been working as an observer for these elections over the last six days, based at one of the polling stations outside Minsk and trying to figure out what is hidden behind the red curtain.
As early voting continues police targets both opposition groups which actively take part in elections and those who call to boycott the elections. A number of opposition parties withdraw their candidates and urge not to participate in elections. Opposition groups call not to vote. Several major opposition political groups called on people not to vote in parliamentary elections. They include the United Civic Party, Belarusian Popular Front, Young Front, Belarusian Christian Democrats and Independent Trade Union of the Radioelectronic Industry. They stated as a reason for their decision the presence of political prisoners in Belarus, a lack of legislative framework for fair elections, an absence of control over vote counting and persistent repression against opposition groups.
Last month ended the trial against former leader of the Belarusian Republican Youth Union Leanid Kavalyou. Police caught Kavalyou with a major bribe. The sentence was harsh – seven years of imprisonment in a maximum security colony with property confiscation. The criminal case represents a telling example of how good the "new governing elite" in Belarus is. In 2012 Lukashenka surpassed Brezhnev with regard to the term of reign. A new generation appeared in Belarus during this time period, the generation that does not remember the country being governed by someone else. Pro-government youth in Belarus is corrupt and opportunistic while opposition-minded young people have to work in extremely difficult circumstances.
On 10 September during his meeting with managing director of the Belarusian Potassium Company (BPC) Aleksandr Lukashenka made the following statement: "In the events involving BPC, even if some issues are still not resolved, then they became less relevant: there are no conflicts or even matters of argument. However, we need to streamline the work and may be even the structure of the company." What matters of argument have been taken from the agenda related to BPC? What structural reform of the company is Lukashenka likely to contemplate?
Belarusian authorities do not allow even a minimal level of electoral competition and openly censor opposition candidates in the ongoing parliamentary election campaign. The campaign looks like a staged show in which the incumbent regime only needs to make sure that not even the slightest destabilisation occurs. On 15 September two major Belarusian opposition parties - the United Civic Party and the Belarusian Popular Front Party - decided to withdraw their candidates from the race. Last Friday the Organisation for Security and Co-Operation in Europe (OSCE) Election Observation Mission published its initial overview of the ongoing parliamentary campaign in Belarus. The report mentions various violations but does not state the obvious - that the OSCE will not recognise the election results as legitimate. The Belarusian authorities simply do not leave any hope for a different conclusion but still hope to normalise relations with the West.
Belarusian experts analyse discrimination in the workplace based on political convictions, social networks preferences of Belarusians, the effect of income increase on political loyalty and media coverage of parliamentary elections among other topics. Idiological Emloyment Restrictionsin Belarus -Tatiana Vodolazhskaya Andrei Shutov (Centre for European Transformation) present an analysis of politically motivated employment restrictions in Belarus. The experts consider employment ban as any barriers to employment based on ideological and political reasons. One of the main ways to implement employment discrimination is a fixed term contract system which is a cornerstone of employment relations in Belarus.
The presidential administration is the centre of the Belarusian regime. It controls all state bodies including the government and parliament. The head of the presidential administration is the right hand of the president. On 27 August, Alexandr Lukashenka appointed Andrei Kabyakou (age 52) to that very office. Moscow-born Russian Kabyakou has been one of the closest people to the Belarusian ruler since 1990s. Some analysts predict that his appointment means that privatisation will soon come as well as increased Russian clout. Others believe that his loyalty to Moscow is exaggerated and he will faithfully work in the interests of Belarusian authorities.
The Lukashenka regime often uses politically motivated administrative detentions for up to 15 days to fight against civil society and the opposition in Belarus. In 2011 the author of this article organised the action of solidarity with two activists - Zmitser Dashkevich and Edward Lobau - during their trial near the courthouse. Unsurprisingly, Belarusian police officers arrested the author. The next day under judge Matyl in the same courthouse punishment followed - 10 days of administrative arrest. This article lifts the veil on what hides behind the bars and shows the conditions which Belarusian activists undergo in detention. This article describes one particular detention centre located in Akrestsina Street in Minsk for three reasons.
Until recently, Internet has been the only oasis of freedom in Belarus' political sphere. But as Belarusian authorities realise that Internet is a powerful means of communication and mobilisation, more and more effort is being put into suppressing online opposition activities. The events related to the upcoming parliamentary elections prove this trend. On the 30 August, several moderators of Internet community Nadoyel nam etot Lukashenka (We are sick of Lukashenka) were detained. The community exists in the largestRussian-speaking social network Vkontakte and has around 37,000 members. The aim of the Belarusian security services was to get access to the community's administrators and delete its content as well as intimidate activists.
In the last month the issue of diplomacy was the focus of the Belarusian authorities several times. On 20 August Alexander Lukashenka appointed a new foreign minister, Uladzimir Makey, and on 1 September he inaugurated the brand new building of the Faculty of International Relations of the Belarusian State University. Although the building looks glamorous, the president spoke with great concern about the human resources situation in the Belarusian diplomatic service. What worries Lukashenka is that today, unlike in the previous decades, fewer and fewer talented young people want to pursue diplomatic careers in Belarus. Moreover, more and more qualified and experienced diplomats eagerly leave their posts in the foreign ministry for more rewarding jobs elsewhere.
On 24 August at a congress of Polish Diaspora in Warsaw Poles from Belarus adopted an open letter. The authors of the letter raised the topic of the serious difficulties that the minority faces in the last dictatorship of Europe. One of the most sensitive issues includes the use of the Card of the Pole, which five years after its introduction still remains controversial. This card issued to ethnic Poles in Belarus gives certain rights to its holders which makes Belarusian authorities nervous. Warsaw maintains that the Card of the Pole is not intended to make citizens of a particular country disloyal. But Minsk had already taken steps to discredit the whole idea, including using Belarusian courts to show its unlawfulness.
Yesterday Belarus officially declared that it would not extradite the former head of Kyrgyzstan's security service Janysh Bakiev. That was the State Prosecution Office's response to an extradition request from Bishkek. Kyrgyzstan accuses Janysh Bakiev of committing a number of violent crimes. Minsk calls Kyrgyzstan's request politically motivated. On 17 August, Belarusian activist Mikhail Pashkevich took a photograph of a Kyrgyz man near a restaurant thinking that it was the former Kyrgyz president Kurmanbek Bakiev who has been living in Belarus since April 2010. The Kyrgyz government have tried - without success - to bring him back to prosecute him for crimes committed during his time in office.
Belarus authorities arrested a number of young activists and sentenced the leader of Young Front Zmicier Dashkevich to one additional year in prison. Other developments relate to parliamentary election campaign, foreign travel bans and court cases involving opposition activists. The Young Front leader sentenced to another year in prison. On August 28, after a closed hearing of, the local court Gluboksky district has sentenced Dmitry Dashkevich, the leader of an international organisation “The Youth Front”, to another year of imprisonment for “malicious violation of the requirements of the penal establishment’s administration”.