No Choice for Voters in Belarus’ Sham Elections

On January 26, Belarusians will go to the polls for “presidential elections,” an event seen by many as a “sham,” a “no-choice election” (bezvybory), and little more than a ritual for Aliaksandr Lukashenka, who has been president of Belarus for more than three decades.The last presidential elections, held in 2020, resulted in country-wide protests against what was widely perceived as a rigged ballot. The authorities’ response to these protests was brutal: tens of thousands people faced arbitrary detention, with estimates of over 6,500 prosecuted, and torture and other ill-treatment was widespread.…

© Human Rights Watch - vendredi 24 janvier 2025