The 2012 parliamentary election in Belarus is over. The Central Elections Committee announced those who will be in the new parliament. A typical MP is a non-partisan male aged between 50 and 60. He made his career in state sector...
The 2012 parliamentary campaign election campaign ended in defeat of all political actors in Belarus. On the one hand, the Belarusian opposition was unable to mobilise society. On the other hand, the authorities received the expected results from a made up...
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...
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...
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...
In about a month, Belarusians will vote in parliamentary elections. Although parliamentary elections have become a mere formality since the late 1990s, each time they arise the Belarusian opposition actively discusses whether it makes sense to participate in them. The...
In September 2012, Belarusians will be asked to elect a new parliament. The opposition is still deciding whether to take part in the elections. They are not sure for a good reason: election fraud has become common practice in...
Charismatic Alyaksandr Lukashenka was elected 1994, when Belarus had its first and so far the only relatively free presidential elections. Lukahsenka won giving promises of...
How to deal with Belarus, along with the question of whether to engage or seek to isolate the regime of Aliaksandr Lukashenka has been a bone of contention in policy...
The news on a legal move by the Belarusian parliament to allow privatization of most profit-making public property objects – the Belaruskali Company and strategically important oil pipelines – generated little publicity. However, it is these assets that make...
On May 27, launching Amnesty International Report 2010: State of the World's Human Rights*, which documents abuses in 159 countries, the organization said that powerful governments are blocking advances in international...
In the last months Ukraine has significantly increased its importance in the European part of the CIS. The new president Viktor Yanukovych enjoys a honeymoon with Russia: Ukrainian-Russian cooperation has started booming after previous president Viktor Yushchenko had left...
The Council of Europe has finally sent a clear signal to Belarus by cutting contacts with the president-controlled Belarusian parliament. The local elections in Belarus one week ago have been...
Looking for subtext in yesterday’s meeting between Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka in Minsk is all the more tempting because Lukashenka had urged not to look for one. Among other things, the two leaders discussed...
