| Author (Corporate) | Cardiff EDC (Compiler) |
|---|---|
| Publication Date | 2020 |
| Content Type | Overview |
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Summary: Reports and analyses concerning the protests taking place in Belarus in the aftermath of the Presidential election held in the country on 9 August 2020. Further information: Protests across the country - in Minsk as well as in smaller cities and towns from different regions - started immediately after the announcement of results by the Central Election Committee. However, those demonstrations gathered momentum over the following weeks and were met with repression and violence by authorities vowed to shield the regime and its leader, Alexander Lukashenko. On 14 August, presidential candidate Svetlana Tsikhanouskaya announced the creation of a Coordination Council comprising 600 members from across different sectors of society and a presidium of 7 members. The Council aimed at coordinating a peaceful and orderly transfer of power from the existing regime and towards fresh, free and fair elections. The first meeting of this Council was held on 18 August. Several members of the presidium were later detained and questioned by the authorities. The regime undertook several attempts to tame the momentum of the anti-regime protests by carrying out its own sponsored demonstrations, as well as implementing repression and violence against citizens and journalists. While the European Union prepared its set of sanctions against the regime, individual countries decided to implement their own restrictive measures against those responsible for violence and electoral fraud. Individual EU Member States led to a delay in the implementation of sanctions. Protests carried on into September in different shapes and forms. The regime continued to repress peaceful protests and detain hundreds of people. Authorities also moved to chase, repress and detain most senior members of the Coordination Council. Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting with Mr Lukashenko on 15 September. The plenary of the European Parliament adopted a Resolution on 17 September which announces the recognition of the Coordination Council as the interim representation of the Belarusian people and declaring it would not recognise Mr Lukashenko as President for a new mandate. On the same day, the OSCE invoked the so-called Moscow Mechanism for Belarus. |
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| Subject Categories | Politics and International Relations |
| Subject Tags | National Politics |
| Countries / Regions | Belarus |
