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Coordination Council voting moved to new website
May 14, Pozirk. The organizers have changed the website for voting in the opposition’s Coordination Council election citing Google service overload.
Voting takes place at https://rada2026.svaepeera.com.
The organizers point out that voters in Belarus must use VPN and Incognito browsing. Those who don’t use Incognito, must delete history and browsing data for safety reasons.
Only 789 people voted by midday of May 14, said Alena Prychodźka, head of the election commission, at a news conference.
She reassured voters that the voting platform is absolutely safe.
Coordination Council speakers Arciom Bruchan noted that exiled Belarusians have been intimidated by transnational repression from the Belarusian regime.
“The goal of any dictatorship is to depoliticize society so that people will not take active part in political life and activism and will not take simple action, such as voting in the Coordination Council election,” he said.
The organizers consider extending voting, set to close on the midnight of May 17, by 36 hours.
The voting platform have come under a severe DDoS attack, but remains fully operational, said its IT engineer Pavieł Liber. Voting began after a delay at noon on May 12, with DDoS attack disrupting access to the platform for 25 minutes that day, he noted. No disruptions have occurred since then.
As many as 174 candidates representing nine political groups are running for the 80-member Coordination Council.
Belarusian authorities branded all groups as “extremist” in an attempt to disrupt the voting.
The Coordination Council is a non-governmental body established in 2020 to facilitate a democratic transfer of power in Belarus. The Council originally had 64 core members with a seven-member leadership board. Amid the post-election crackdown in Belarus, many of the Council’s members were arrested or forced into exile.
In 2022 and 2023, the Coordination Council was re-established abroad as a body consisting of representatives of various pro-democracy groups in exile.
In May 2024, the Council held its first direct online election, with more than 6,700 citizens of Belarus reportedly taking part in it.
With 28 seats, Pavieł Łatuška and the Movement for Freedom is currently the Council’s largest political group. Łatuška is deputy head of the opposition transition cabinet led by Sviatłana Cichanoŭskaja.
Opposition politicians link low Coordination Council election turnout to fear
May 14, Pozirk. Opposition politicians have attributed the low turnout in the ongoing election for Coordination Council to fear among potential voters, including exiled Belarusians. Only 789 people voted by midday of May 14, said Alena Prychodźka, head of the …
