{"id":123521,"date":"2025-01-26T19:50:53","date_gmt":"2025-01-26T16:50:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/123521\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","slug":"opposition-leader-todays-election-is-mockery","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/123521\/","title":{"rendered":"Opposition leader: today\u2019s election is mockery"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n\n \"\"\n
\n \n
\n (Pozirk)<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

January 26, Pozirk<\/em>. <\/strong>Today\u2019s election in Belarus is a mockery of the electoral procedures and the very idea of elections, Belarusian opposition leader \u015aviat\u0142ana Cichano\u016dskaja had told participants in a rally in Warsaw that brought together exiled Belarusians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka, in power since 1994, will remain in history as \u201ca traitor and a criminal, not a guardian of independence, no matter how much he wants that and no matter how many times he re-elects himself,\u201d she stressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier today, the politician described the ongoing presidential election in Belarus as a \u201cfarce and imitation,\u201d noting that Belarusians risk being thrown behind bars every day for political reasons, such as wearing the wrong color of socks, speaking Belarusian and opposing war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u0141uka\u0161enka will not be able to force Belarusians to see him as a leader and accept the official result of the seventh presidential election, she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The politician pledged to keep up the struggle for democracy, ensuring accountability for \u0141uka\u0161enka and his officials and protecting the rights of ordinary Belarusians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Noting the dangerous character of the Belarusian state-sponsored propaganda, Cichano\u016dskaja promised to negotiate assistance to independent media outlets with the European Union amid the United States’ freeze on foreign aid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Belarus is holding its seventh presidential election from January 21 to 26, with the whole election cycle limited to just three months. The current campaign is taking place in a purged political landscape amid a new crackdown on regime critics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The five presidential bidders are Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka, his supporters Aleh Hajdukievi\u010d, Alaksandar Chi\u017eniak, Siarhiej Syranko\u016d as well as former MP Hanna Kanapackaja.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Belarusian opposition dismissed the election as a sham, noting that political reprisals prevent pro-democracy candidates from running and voters from freely expressing their will.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The country has not held a single free and fair election since 1996 by the standards of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n
\n \"\"