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Election Date: October 12, 2008

At stake: House of Representatives

Background

Belarus seceded from the Soviet Union in 1991. Three years later, independent candidate Aleksandr Lukashenko won the presidential election, boosted by his popularity after acting as chairman of an anti-corruption parliamentary committee. In 1995, Lukashenko pushed for a referendum on a new state flag and the restoration of Russian as one of the country’s official languages.

A new plebiscite in 1996 increased Lukashenko’s clout over the legislative branch. In September 2001, the incumbent earned a new term as president. International observers pointed out that the conditions were not particularly fair in the ballot.

The administration’s human rights record has been severely criticized internationally. In 2002, the United States and 14 members of the European Union (EU) called for a travel ban on Lukashenko and other government ministers. The veto was lifted in April 2003, but both the U.S. and the EU remain critical of Belarus.

In October 2004, Belarusian voters renewed their legislative branch and participated in a referendum to remove an article in the constitution that limits presidents to two consecutive five-year terms.

Click here for Belarus 2004 Legislative Election Tracker 

In May 2005, U.S. president George W. Bush referred to Belarus as "the last remaining dictatorship in Europe," adding, "When the [next presidential] elections come, make sure the elections are free, and have monitors and international observers. As you know, that made a big difference in the Ukraine."

Four candidates contended the 2006 presidential election. They were incumbent Aleksandr Lukashenko, Aleksandr Milinkevich of the United Democratic Opposition, Sergei Gaidukevich of the Liberal Democratic Party, and Aleksandr Kozulin of the Social Democratic Party.

Two other prospective contenders—Aleksandr Voitovich and Zenon Pozniak—abandoned the race in the early stages, citing concerns about fairness.

Final results gave Lukashenko 82.6 per cent of all cast ballots. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) issued a report stating the presidential ballot "did not meet the required international standards for free and fair elections" and calling it "severely flawed due to arbitrary use of state power and restrictions to basic rights."

Click Here for Belarus 2006 Presidential Election Tracker 

In March, police detained Kozulin in Minsk as he was about to register for the All-Belarusian Assembly, a national gathering that was established to identify the country’s economic priorities for the next five years. According to prosecutors, Kozulin was arrested after he pushed a policeman, and later damaged a picture of the president at the police station. He remains in prison as of April 2008, despite repeated calls by several Western governments to free him. Kozulin is a former rector of the Belarusian State University.

In early 2007, Belarus and Russia’s relations were strained by a conflict over the price of oil and natural gas. Russia doubled the price of its gas—which Belarus largely depends on—and imposed a high duty on oil exports. Belarus responded by imposing an expensive tax on Russian gas in January. The impasse affected several European countries that depend on Russian oil exports, which are transported through Belarus.

2008 House of Representatives Election

On Mar. 31, Belarus’ largest coalition of opposition parties—the United Pro-democratic Forces—submitted six different proposals to the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) seeking to improve the country’s implementation of electoral laws.

Viktar Karnyayenka, coordinator of the coalition’s campaign for free and fair elections, declared: "Today’s electoral regulations cannot be regarded as perfect, but it’s not realistic to amend them by the time of the forthcoming parliamentary elections". (…) That’s why we decided to concentrate on the implementation of the existing regulations, which would allow us to increase society’s political culture."

On Apr. 7, CEC secretary Mikalay Lazavik said the body would seriously consider the recommendations, adding, "We concluded after a cursory study that most of the proposals were constructive."

On Apr. 3, Belarusian president Aleksandr Lukashenko asked Russia to help stop the expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Eastern Europe, saying, "We cannot simply sit back and say that everything around us is peaceful, that there are no problems around Belarus. (…) The NATO bloc has set its sights on former Soviet republics. I believe it is a matter of time before Ukraine and Georgia join NATO. No one is taking any heed of the position of Russia, Belarus and other post-Soviet republics."

In March 2004, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia officially joined NATO. In early 2008,, NATO failed to reach an agreement with Ukraine and Georgia to begin accession talks.

On Apr. 4, the EU extended sanctions imposed on 41 Belarus government officials by one year, stating, "Grounds for revising the sanctions will be the complete and unconditional release of all political prisoners in Belarus and the conducting of free and fair parliamentary elections this fall." The sanctions include a travel ban and freezing of assets. Some of the sanctions were imposed in 2004, and others in 2006 on officials who were allegedly involved in cracking down civil and opposition activists.

On Apr. 21, the opposition United Civic Party—which has no representatives in the legislature—Belarus a "totalitarian state at the center of Europe" and accused Lukashenko’s government of being "afraid of a dialogue with society."

On Apr. 22, Andrei Kim, one of two Belarusian detainees considered as political prisoners by some Western governments, was sentenced on to one and a half years in jail for allegedly attacking a police officer during a protest earlier this year. Anatoly Lebedko, a well-known opposition leader, said after learning of Kim’s conviction that Belarus "is unfortunately returning to the past."

Political Players

President: Aleksandr Lukashenko
Prime minister: Sergey Sidorski

The president is elected to a five-year term by popular vote.

Legislative Branch: The Nacionalnoje Sabranie (National Assembly) has two chambers. The Palata Predstaviteley (House of Representatives) has 110 members elected to four-year terms in single-seat constituencies. The Soviet Respubliki (Council of the Republic) has 64 members, 56 members indirectly elected and eight members appointed by the president.

Results of Last Election:

President - Mar. 19, 2006

House of Representatives - Oct. 17, 2004

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