Belarusian presidential election, 2006

In the presidential elections in Belarus in 2006 the incumbent since 1994, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko was allowed for a referendum criticized in the West about a change in the law enabled him to further legislative periods, compete for the second time for re-election. The strongest opposition candidate Alyaksandr Milinkevich was.

• 2.1 International responses

Choice

Prior to the election, there was criticism of the unequal conditions choice by the opposition. In the week before the presidential election, the government intensified its crackdown on critics, meaning that multiple newspapers were closed or blocked from distribution. As some media reported, threatened the security apparatus of the President to proceed with the utmost severity against any protests. Opponents of the regime were persecuted as "terrorists". You so threatened the death penalty. In a televised address Lukashenka threatened especially foreigners that anyone who "trying to make something in our country," the head "like a torn duckling " would. The accusation that the Belarusian opposition would massively suppressed, the Government rejected them. The German daily news quoted from a statement: ". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus is shocked that the OSCE has delivered its verdict before the election day, without waiting for the judgment of their observers ," according to an employee of the OSCE reason for the early criticism were the events in the week before the election. Also a number of OSCE election observers to enter Belarus was prohibited.

The U.S. and the EU announced in irregularities in the outcome of the vote on sanctions.

Ballot

The ballot took place on Sunday 19 March 2006. According to the official result Lukashenko won the election with 83.0 % of votes. The strongest opposition candidate Alyaksandr Milinkevich was 6.1% of the vote. Overall, 92.6 % of eligible voters participating in the election.

Reactions

Even before the official end of the election announced the most public opinion institutes an election of 80 to 85 %. In the following night it came on October Square in the capital Minsk to a peaceful protest of about 10,000 people against the election and President Alexander Lukashenko. The organizer and opposition candidate Alyaksandr Milinkevich stated that he did not accept the result and called for a redial. According to President Alexander Lukashenko, there were no facts for election fraud, he described the opposition as terrorists and openly threatened with consequences. The intelligence chief threatened the protesters, they could be considered terrorists, and the government do not hesitate to speak out for long prison terms or even death sentences.

For the evening of March 20, the opposition called for protests again to demonstrating against the falsification of the election results. The call followed despite meeting ban and feared reprisals again about 5,000 people. An estimated 500 waited overnight in tents. About 20 of March 21 were arrested when leaving the place in the morning. Information provided by the human rights organization Vesna According there were 108 arrests. Some ambassadors and deputy ambassadors of Germany, France, Britain, Italy and Latvia showed in a brief, unofficial visit symbolic solidarity with the mostly young protesters. On the third night demonstrated even 1,000 people. As an example of the protest was the so-called Orange Revolution, which in 2004 reached a peaceful way for new elections and a change in government after the presidential elections in Ukraine.

On the night of March 24, the camp of protesters was evicted by police within 15 minutes.

The protests continued into at noon on March 25. Around 3,000 Lukashenko opponents gathered despite the ban again for a demonstration. Milinkievich already had days earlier attention to the historical significance of the March 25, 1918 as the day of independence of the country and wanted to put a big demonstration of a symbolic character. The October Square was sealed off at both inputs, but by anti -riot units. A majority of the protesters gathered after the nearby Yanka Kupala Park, where the crowd grew to an estimated 7,000 people Milinkievich. Previously, a barrier had been broken by several hundred protesters, prompting security grilles were installed. The police asked the crowd to to go back home because the demonstration was not approved. Chance there was fighting between police and demonstrators, but overall the situation remained calm. The authorities stated that the opposition politician Alyaksandr Kazulin and the speaker of the opposition leader Alexander Milinkevich, Pawel Mascheika, were in custody. Kazulin had previously called for the assault on a prison in which government critics were detained. Afterwards, the situation between the protesters and the police intensified briefly. This led to criticism of Milinkievich: "This was a provocation that came in handy of state power. " He rejected the message of the Russian news agency Interfax about his arrest back.

International reactions

The OSCE, with its 500 election observers described the election in advance as undemocratic and criticized the unfair conditions for opposition parties.

The Russian government assessed the election as a " testament to the fact that voters trust our course towards further growth of the prosperity of the Belarusian people." Vladimir Putin congratulated Alexander Lukashenko re-election. Russia accused the OSCE that they would have instigated in the country to revolt. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said an interview with the Russian news agency Interfax, according to the OSCE election had been prejudiced against and occupied no neutral position.

The United States announced the next day that they did not accept the outcome of the election and called for new elections.

After the protests in Belarus were stopped by the police, the European Union and the United States intensified its pressure on the Belarusian leadership. The EU leaders agreed at their summit sanctions against President Alexander Lukashenko. The Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik said that among other things, entry bans for those who would be considered, which would falsify the election. According to EU officials is also the freezing of foreign assets in the discussion. The EU said the opposition to further support in Belarus.

Background

Among the reasons for the weak opposition expressed, for example, The Guardian on 22 March 2006:

" Would you expect that a European statesman, under whose government, real wages have been rising steadily, is finally chosen by 24% in the last 12 months, from office? And if he also lowered the sales tax, defeated inflation, halved the number of people in poverty in the last seven years and avoided social tensions through the most equitable income distribution in the region? "