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Around three and a half years after the rigged and internationally sharply criticised Presidential Election, which gave ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka his sixth term as head of state in Belarus, his regime is calling on the people of the country to vote in a Parliamentary Election at the end of February. No surprises are to be expected. Only loyalists are represented in the 110-seat House of Representatives, the last real opposition forces were excluded in the run-up to the election. The head of state had already announced in advance that Western election observers were unwelcome and that he would be able to ensure that the vote was conducted properly himself. Since the waves of arrests in the wake of the mass protests following the Presidential Elections, the democratic opposition has mainly been organised abroad and has continuously denounced the gross discrimination of people with dissenting political opinions and the disregard for democratic values. The president, who is largely isolated internationally outside a circle of dictatorially governed countries and whom some observers have labelled the "last dictator of Europe", appears unimpressed by this and wants to consolidate his unchallenged position in the country through the Parliamentary Elections. However, it remains to be seen how people will react to another less credible election result on 25 February. While the state apparatus is likely to do everything in its power to prevent images like those after the last Presidential Election, the opposition emphasises that it has not yet given up its resistance to the regime and will continue to campaign for a free Belarus. 

What were the results of the so-called Parliamentary Elections? What reactions can be expected to the election results? How has the situation of the Belarusian opposition changed since the mass protests in summer 2020? Is there a realistic chance of a free Belarus, which the opposition repeatedly invokes?

The event „The Morning After – Belarus has voted” will take place on Monday, 26 February 2024 from 09:30-10:15 CET via Zoom. We look forward to discussing the election result with our colleague Jakob Wöllenstein, Director of the KAS Office Belarus. After the conversation between Mr Wöllenstein and Kai Gläser, Policy Advisor at the European Office of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, the audience will have the opportunity to contribute their questions to the discussion. The event will be held in German with simultaneous interpretation into English.

Please register by clicking here.

We look forward to your participation!

Here you will find the program for download: Programme 24-02-26 Belarus has voted.pdf