Elections in Belarus: Chronology of events

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

More than 5,000 detainees and the first one killed during the protests, Tikhanovskaya's departure to Lithuania and criticism of Lukashenka's harsh actions. What happens in Belarus after the presidential elections?

In Minsk and other cities of Belarus, after the presidential elections held on August 9, mass protests continue, the participants of which are outraged by the official results of the voting. Clashes between the protesters and the security forces are becoming more and more violent, with the first victims. Meanwhile, Lukashenka’s main rival in the elections, housewife Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, left the country.

Is the question of the winner of the election not closed?

According to preliminary data from the CEC, which were announced on August 10, incumbent President Lukashenko won the elections with more than 80% of the vote. His main opponent, housewife Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, has about 11%. Tikhanovskaya did not recognize the results of the CEC, saying that she considers herself the winner of the elections: "The numbers we received do not coincide with those that were announced." Tikhanovskaya's headquarters has its own data on the voting results for about 250 out of almost 6 thousand polling stations. According to the headquarters, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya received from 70 to 90% of the votes in different regions of the country.

Tihanovskaya left Belarus

Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who was going to appeal the election results, spent several hours in the building of the Central Election Commission on August 10. After that, there was no exact information about her whereabouts for some time. And on the morning of August 11, "Tikhanovskaya is safe, she is in Lithuania," the Minister of Foreign Affairs of this country Linas Linkevicius said on Twitter.

Later, in a video posted on YouTube, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya stated that she independently decided to leave the country. “I know that many will understand me, many will condemn me, and many will hate. But, you know, God forbid to face such a choice, which I faced,” said Tikhanovskaya. She urged Belarusians to take care of themselves: "Not a single life is worth what is happening now."

New format of Belarusian protest

“The presidential elections in Belarus passed like a holiday, but those who wanted to spoil it lit up even brighter,” - this is how Alexander Lukashenko assessed what happened on election day. Meanwhile, the announcement shortly after the closure of polling stations of the official exit poll data and the first results of the voting caused a storm of indignation among many people in Belarus.

During a protest in Minsk, August 9

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Minsk and other large cities on the evening of August 9 and 10, they chanted slogans: "We believe, we can, we will win!" and "Long Live Belarus" (Long Live Belarus). The majority of people on the first evening gathered at the "Minsk - Hero City" stela.

A feature of the current protests in Belarus is that they are decentralized, they take place not only in Minsk and do not have a single leadership - a number of bloggers have appealed to Belarusians to take to the streets, and people gather in different places, including not in the central regions. the Belarusian capital. Everyone pays attention to the fact that never before have protests in Belarus been so fierce.

Violent clashes between police and protesters and the first victim

Svetlana Tikhanovskaya admitted that she was sure that the authorities would not go for a harsh crackdown on protests. However, the OMON, as promised by President Lukashenko, did not stand on ceremony with those who take to the streets. During the dispersal of the action, stun grenades, rubber bullets, firecrackers and water cannons are used.

In turn, the protesters are very determined and are not afraid to rebuff the security forces. They are trying to build barricades by blocking the roads.

Dispersal of a protest rally in Minsk, August 9

During the protests, there is the first victim. At about 23.00 Moscow time on August 10, an explosion occurred on Pritytsky Street in Minsk, as a result of which one of the protesters died. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Belarus, an explosive device detonated in the man's hands, which he wanted to throw at the police officers. At the same time, the authors of the Belarus Brain Telegram channel, covering the protests in detail, believe that the man could have died after the security forces threw a flash grenade at his feet.

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Belarus, during clashes throughout the country on the night of August 9-10, more than 3,000 people were detained (a third of them in Minsk), 50 protesters and 39 police officers were injured. Over the next day, as reported by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, 2,000 more people were detained.

Without internet and social networks

From the morning of August 9 And until now, there is practically no Internet in Belarus - not only news and socio-political sites that are critical of the current authorities, but also social networks, as well as services dependent on the Internet, remain difficult for users to access.

According to Lukashenka, allegedly "the Internet in Belarus is turned off from abroad" in order to displease the Belarusians. “This is not an initiative of the authorities. Now our specialists are trying to figure out where this blocking is coming from,” Alexander Lukashenko said.

Foreign reaction to elections in Belarus

Chinese leader Xi Jinping was the first to congratulate Alexander Lukashenko on his re-election for a sixth term. He was followed by the leaders of the CIS countries, including Russia. In a congratulatory telegram to Lukashenko, Vladimir Putin noted that he expects to further develop mutually beneficial Russian-Belarusian relations in all areas, deepen cooperation within the Union State, the EAEU, as well as military-political ties in the CSTO.

Xi Jinping and Alexander Lukashenko (archived photo)

In turn, not congratulations were voiced from the West, but criticism. Charles Michel, President of the European Council, condemned the actions of the Belarusian security forces against the protesters. "Violence against protesters is not the answer. Freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, basic human rights must be respected," Michelle tweeted on August 10.

The forceful actions of the Belarusian authorities were also condemned by the President of the European Commission (EC) Ursula von der Leyen, who called for the publication of the exact results of the elections. “I urge the Belarusian authorities to ensure accurate counting and publication of votes in yesterday's elections,” the head of the EC wrote on Twitter.

And the official representative of the FRG government Steffen Seibert said that in the opinion of the government in Berlin, the minimum democratic standards were not observed in the elections in Belarus. According to him, Germany condemns the use of force against peaceful protesters and the detention of journalists. "The political leadership of the country must recognize the will of the citizens," Seibert stressed, adding that now consultations are underway on a joint reaction of the EU.

What will happen in Belarus next?

While Lukashenko accepts congratulations and listens to criticism, the main question - how long the protests will last - remains open. Analysts point out that it is unlikely that everything will be limited to what has been happening in the last two days. A number of opposition politicians have come forward with a proposal to start an indefinite nationwide strike. Telegram channels urge Belarusians to continue to take to the streets.

If the scale and duration of the protests, as well as the plan for further actions of the protesters, cause discussion, then the reaction to them on the part of the authorities can be said unequivocally - it will be a forceful response. “If someone didn’t believe, then he believed it now.… We will not allow the country to be torn apart,” Lukashenka warned.