Turnout
84.28%
Incumbent Alexander Lukashenko was announced by the Central Election Commission (CEC) to have won a sixth term in office, crediting him with just over 80% of the vote.[2] Lukashenko has won every presidential election since 1994,[3] with all but the first being labelled by international monitors as neither free nor fair.[4]
Opposition candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya claimed to have won a decisive first-round victory with at least 60% of the vote, and called on Lukashenko to start negotiations. Her campaign subsequently formed the Coordination Council to facilitate a transfer of power and stated that it was ready to organize "long-term protests" against the official results.[5][6] All seven members of the Coordination Council Presidium were subsequently arrested or went into exile.
All opposition candidates have filed appeals to the Central Election Commission calling for the results to be invalidated.[7] The election was marred by claims of widespread electoral fraud.[8][9][10] Numerous countries refused to accept the result of the election, as did the European Union, which imposed sanctions on Belarusian officials deemed to be responsible for "violence, repression and election fraud".[11] The results of the election led to widespread protests.[12]
Background[edit]
On 8 May 2020, the National Assembly set 9 August as the date for the presidential election.[13]
Incumbent president Alexander Lukashenko had been leading the country since the first presidential elections held in 1994. Over the next two years, he rapidly consolidated his power. In 1995, he won a referendum that gave him the power to dissolve the legislature if he felt it contravened the Constitution. In 1996, he won another referendum that dramatically increased his power, and also extended his original five-year term to 2001.[14][15] Since then, his regime has been reckoned as an authoritarian dictatorship by Western observers.[16] Opposition activists are often pressured or detained by the government, and Lukashenko or those loyal to him control (as of 2020) all of the seats in both houses of the National Assembly, all judicial appointments, the media, and the CEC (which has the power to approve or deny candidates for political offices).[17]
Electoral system[edit]
The president of Belarus is elected using the two-round system. If no candidate obtains over 50% of the vote, a second round is held with the top two candidates. The winner of the second round is elected. A turnout quorum of 50% is applied.[18]
Despite the two-round system being in place, a second round has not been officially required since 1994. In the previous four elections, Lukashenko claimed margins of 77% or more in the first round. No election since 1994 has met international standards of transparency and fairness.[4]
May
June
July
August
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell on 14 August announced that the EU would bring in sanctions against Belarusian officials responsible for "violence and falsification".[5][166] Charles Michel, President of the European Council went further on 19 August saying the EU would soon impose sanctions on a "substantial number" of individuals responsible for violence, repression, and election fraud.[167] The European Commission announced it would divert 53 million euros (£48m) earmarked for Belarus away from the government and towards civil society.[163]
On 18 August 2020, the Lithuanian parliament agreed to impose economic sanctions against the Belarusian government.[168]
On 19 August 2020, the Prime Minister of Slovakia stated that the Government of Slovakia introduced sanctions against the Belarusian government in the new legislative session.[169]
Countries and organisations have voiced their opinions with some accepting and some rejecting the election result. Many have commented about the protests with more condemning the violence.
Countries and organisations resolving to impose sanctions:
