Presidential Elections in Belarus

Alexander Lukashenko is confident that he will be re-elected as the new Belarussian president. He has been quoted as saying that he will win with an overwhelming 90 percent of the vote. Many analysts say this figure is exaggerated, predicting 60 percent as more likely.

Various democratic opposition parties united behind Vladimir Goncharik believe that the outcome will indeed claim Lukashenko as the country's re-elected leader. They claim this is due to his falsification of voting results, censorship of independent (non-state) media reports and abduction of opponents.

Moreover, they are prepared to denounce his dictatorship in Belarus' capital, Minsk, that evening by staging an unauthorised demonstration in either of the famous Soviet or Independent Squares.

Opposition groups make ultimatum

On Friday, September 7, more than 60 representatives comprising famous writers, poets, politicians and relatives of repressed regime victims, addressed current Belarussian authorities with an ultimatum stating that they prove their non-involvement in the abductions of opposition figures. Failure to do so will be ground enough for them to be considered responsible for the disappearances.

"The Belarusian authorities have 48 hours to present proof of their non-involvement in abductions of their opponents. 48 hours to demonstrate to the nation their clean hands, on which there’s no blood. 48 hours to present to the nation their alibi. 48 hours to distinctly voice their reasoning and refute the witness' testimony and documents on the involvement of special forces in human abductions. Given the authorities failure to do it within next 48 hours, we’ll have every ground to consider that the responsibility for what had happened lies with the ruling regime," the statement reads.

Lukashenko unphased

Lukashenko, appointed in 1994, has yet to respond to the ultimatum and remains seemingly unphased by the international press' allegations against him. Local media have quoted him as saying that he will crack down on the opposition demonstration planned for the night of Sunday's presidential election in the Belarussian capital, too. "No-one is prohibited from walking on October Square or Independence Square, but any attempts to organise illegal actions will be suppressed firmly and immediately," he said.

Opposition ready to fight

Opposition members are at present readying themselves for mass falsification of the results. Independent Observation, an organisation established to certify results by the opposition, claims that "the authorities are doing everything to hinder independent observation, although we strictly comply with the law".

The media too, is lashing out at Lukashenko for censorship. An international campaign for freedom of expression named Article 19 has also been launched. In a report entitled "The Mechanism of repressions: updated information on presidential elections" circulated on Friday, the group presents evidence to prove that the government played the role of direct censor to win voter confidence. The result, they say, is hours of overwhelmingly positive state media coverage that creates an active, dynamic image for Lukashenko and exploited voters' fears of chaos should he fail to be re-elected.

"In light of the emerged statements about the possible implication of state officials in the abductions and murders of three leading opposition activists and journalist Dmitry Zavadsky, the campaign, unleashed by the authorities against non-state press, is seemingly directed at the concealment of truth," the report concludes. "Undoubtedly, the official campaign against free press in tandem with the limited access of opposition candidates to state media didn't provide for the minimum democratic standards during the ballot period."

However, a State Committee spokesperson was quoted as saying: "We pursued a very honest policy toward non-state media during the election campaign. If these eedditions came up with inaccurate information, we simply removed it."