The parliamentary elections have ended in Belarus. Not a single oppositionist candidate participated

The combined elections for the parliament and local authorities in Belarus have ended after a week-long process. Independent experts have referred to these elections as a mere ritual and training before next year’s presidential elections. On Sunday, Alyaksandr Lukashenka announced his participation in the upcoming elections.

At 8 p.m. local time, the end of voting was announced, and the polling stations were closed. It is important to note that no opposition candidates participated in the recent elections in Belarus. Furthermore, independent observers were not present during the voting process. Despite the lack of political competition, the Central Electoral Commission reported a high turnout of approximately 72.98%. However, it is worth mentioning that the primary voting day on Sunday was preceded by five days of early voting, which can potentially promote electoral fraud. It is because the ballot boxes remain unsupervised during this time, as previous elections have shown.

The official results of the parliamentary elections indicate that 51 pro-Lukashenka Belaya Rus party deputies were elected to the House of Representatives, while 40 were formally non-partisan. Additionally, the Republican Party of Labor and Justice received eight seats, the Communist Party received seven, and the Liberal Democratic Party received four. All of these parties support the Lukashenka regime. Unfortunately, the authorities in Belarus have taken steps to eliminate opposition groups.

In this campaign, the elections were combined for the first time, which was made possible by changes to the Belarusian constitution. The elections were also postponed.

– Local elections should have been held in 2022, and parliamentary elections in 2023, but the idea was to postpone it as much as possible (from the protests after the rigged presidential elections that started in 2020 – belsat.eu.) Both campaigns were delayed under the pretext of one day of voting, political scientist Alyaksandr Klaskouski told  the Polish Press Agency (PAP).

The current elections are being viewed as a formality to validate Lukashenka’s authority and train the state machinery for next year’s upcoming presidential elections. Kłaskouski predicts that Lukashenka will be re-elected, and recent events have proved this prognosis accurate. When asked about his intentions to run in the elections, Lukashenka confirmed that he would indeed participate.

Lukashenka was surprised by the turnout

Alyaksandr Lukashenka commented on the completed elections at a meeting with the Head of the CIS Observation Mission, Sergei Lebedev.

Lukashenka said that his government has immense public support. He analyzed the election campaign based on his experience. He concluded that the current government is supported by over 87 percent of society, with a low number of uncertain people.

– Undoubtedly, some individuals are dissatisfied with our current situation, and we acknowledge this. Therefore, in this election cycle, we must analyze, draw appropriate conclusions, and make the necessary improvements. We only have a few problems but will fix them within a year. I am confident that an even more significant number of people will participate in the upcoming presidential elections, Lukashenka added.

However, Lukashenka also stated that turnout in these elections was unexpectedly high.

– I didn’t expect such a high turnout in the elections. This is unprecedented in our local government and parliamentary elections, said the Belarusian dictator.

Congratulates from Putin

Vladimir Putin congratulated Alyaksandr Lukashenka on the successful implementation of unified voting day and the victory of Belarusian patriotic forces. The Kremlin press service published the appropriate statement.

– Dear Alyaksandr Ryhoravich (Lukashenka – belsat.eu), I sincerely congratulate you on the successful conduct of the joint voting day and the inevitable victory of the Belarusian patriotic forces. The high voter turnout and poll results will confirm broad support for the harmonious socio-economic development of Belarus that is taking place under your leadership, ensuring internal political stability and promoting mutually beneficial integration processes within the Union State, said the press release.

The Russian leader expressed hope that elected parliamentarians will effectively cooperate with their colleagues from the Russian Federation within the framework of inter-parliamentary dialogue and multi-faceted inter-regional relations. Putin also wished Lukashenka health, prosperity, and success in state activities.

jb/belsat.eu according to PAP

Translated by PEV