{"id":123363,"date":"2025-01-25T21:31:51","date_gmt":"2025-01-25T18:31:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/123363\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","slug":"rights-defenders-lukasenkas-contenders-invisible-as-authorities-fake-competition","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/123363\/","title":{"rendered":"Rights defenders: \u0141uka\u0161enka\u2019s contenders invisible as authorities fake competition"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n (Central Election Commission)<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

January 25, Pozirk. <\/em><\/strong>Belarusian authorities imitate competition at the seventh presidential election on January 21-26 amid ongoing reprisals, says a recent report by the Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka\u2019s contenders for the presidential office did not position themselves as a real alternative to Belarus\u2019 longtime ruler but rather campaigned for him, rights defenders said, noting that Belarusians may have barely noticed their campaigns in a <\/em><\/strong>purged political landscape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pro-government candidates Aleh Hajdukievi\u010d, Alaksandar Chi\u017eniak and Siarhiej Syranko\u016d and former MP Hanna Kanapackaja did not have the same level of access to the state-run media despite the allocation of TV and radio slots guaranteed by electoral legislation, they noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The election campaigning was held in unequal conditions as \u0141uka\u0161enka used a vast array of propaganda tools, pro-government associations and state-controlled media to promote himself, according to the report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA deliberate vague distinction between the fulfillment of state duties and campaigning allowed \u0141uka\u0161enka to combine official visits, meetings and trips with actual campaigning, taking advantage of the privileges of extensive information coverage at the state expense,\u201d the report reads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even the dissemination of election information generally contained hidden support of \u0141uka\u0161enka, it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Belarusian ruler\u2019s decision to raise pensions in the run-up to the election could be interpreted as bribery of voters, it added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Established in 2008, the Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections includes election monitors from the Viasna Human Rights Center and the Belarusian Helsinki Committee. Belarusian rights defenders are monitoring the 2025 presidential election remotely over security threats for independent observers and ongoing crackdown on civil society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Belarus has not held a single free and fair election since 1996 by the standards of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. The previous 2020 presidential race was marred by fraud and police brutality against peaceful protesters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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