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POZIRK+Press Freedom Report: Belarus hotspot of repression, threats to journalists
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Former police spokeswoman elected as leader pro-Łukašenka party
June 28, Pozirk. Volha Čamadanava, head of the Minsk city government’s ideology chief, has been elected as chairwoman of the pro-government Biełaja Ruś party, the state media reported.
The party’s supreme political council and delegates elected her at a meeting in Minsk on June 27.
In late 2018, Čamadanava was appointed spokeswoman for the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Before that, she oversaw juvenile affairs at the Minsk District Executive Committee’s Internal Affairs Directorate.
She served with the police until 2021, when she was transferred to the Minsk City Executive Committee.
She also chairs the Minsk grassroots organization of the Belarusian Women’s Union.
Čamadanava is an ardent supporter of Alaksandar Łukašenka. She became prominent in 2020, when police cracked down on mass protests against election fraud, as she defended police violence and political repression. During her tenure as spokeswoman, police-linked social media often posted so-called forced confessions extracted from detainees. Many videos showed signs of violence against protesters.
In October 2024, in the run-up to the presidential election, Čamadanava asked the Central Election Commission to register her campaign to run for president. Although her request was granted, Čamadanava withdrew just two weeks later.
Łukašenka reluctant to share powers with loyalist dummy parties
Four political parties remain in Belarus after a political purge that followed the 2020 postelection protests. Although all of them are completely loyal to Alaksandar Łukašenka, he made it clear that they will play little role in politics, including during …
