Central election commission reports record turnout on first day of early voting

February 21, Pozirk. Belarus’ central election commission has reported that 5.94 percent of registered voters cast ballots on the first day of early voting in Belarus’ parliamentary and local elections.
The early voting takes place from February 20 to 24 with the main election day set for Sunday, February 25.
International organizations, including the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and Belarusian election monitoring groups have criticized the early voting procedure as vulnerable to abuse. Belarusian human rights organizations say that early voting is the key element of the government’s vote rigging machine.
The first day’s official early voting turnout rose from 2.68 percent in the 2004 parliamentary election, to 2.8 percent in 2008, 3 percent in 2012, 3.92 percent in 2016 and 4.69 percent in 2019.
The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) concluded that all these polls fell short of democratic standards for free and fair elections.
Minsk has not invited any ODIHR observers this year, but said that some 200 international monitors have been deployed. Most represent the Commonwealth of Independent States and other Russia-led bodies.
The central election commission has not registered a single opposition candidate for the contests. The opposition is not represented in the election commissions.
The Belarusian pro-democracy forces will hold a live YouTube event titled “I Choose a New Belarus!” on February 25.
“Make the right choice and stay home on the non-election day. They are offering us to pretend that we have a choice, but it is a lie,” Śviatłana Cichanoŭskaja’s office appealed to voters. “Do not participate in the deception and watch the YouTube marathon.”
The show will feature more than 20 speakers, including artists, activists and economists. They will share their vision of “moving from a dictatorship of lies and fear to a new Belarus.”
- EconomyBelarus’ deficit in goods trade widens to $2.6 billion in January-MayThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Security, SocietyDrones, energetic materials new majors in Belarusian higher educationThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Economy
- Politics, SecurityŁukašenka accuses West of militarization ahead of Zapad 2025 drillThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Economy
- EconomyPrivate companies’ overdue loan debt rises six-fold year on yearThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- EconomyIndividuals’ overdue debt on loans up 23.6 percentThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SecurityDead Eritrean found near shared border with Latvia, Belarus saysThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Germany news, PoliticsGerman MPs join For a Democratic Belarus group’s new lineupThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- EconomyPutin’s crony delivering goods from occupied Ukraine to BelarusThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsReprisals: concerns grow over jailed pundit Kaściuhova’s healthThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- EconomyLibyan delegation in MinskThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- EconomyUpper house approves fines for vegetable shortagesThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsŁukašenka says Belarusians should be grateful to his government for staying out warThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- SocietyWoman killed by hit-and-run Belarusian in PolandThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsFour more people recognized as political prisonersThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsUpper house passes bill to ban “extremists” from educationThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- SocietyBelarusian universities to offer 1,000 tuition-free places for Russians this yearThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Society
- SocietyPoland seizes medical products from Belarus with Interpol involvementThe material is available only to POZIRK+