Polling stations open across Belarus for country’s presidential election
Date
1/27/2025 6:38:05 AM
(MENAFN) Polling stations have opened across Belarus for the country’s presidential election, with five candidates registered, including long-time incumbent Alexander Lukashenko, who has ruled since 1994. The challengers include Anna Kanopatskaya, a former opposition figure; Oleg Gaidukevich, leader of the Liberal Democratic Party; Sergey Syryankov from the Communist Party; and Aleksandr Khizhnyak, leader of the Republican Party of Labor and Justice.
Over 5,000 polling stations are set up nationwide, but no voting stations have been opened abroad, citing security issues and reduced diplomatic capacity. Relations between Belarus and the West have deteriorated since the 2020 election, which sparked protests over alleged electoral fraud that the government denied, blaming foreign interference.
Lukashenko, often labeled as a dictator by Western media, acknowledged the presence of a dictatorship in Belarus but defended it as a system of stability, security, and order. He has emphasized the importance of a dignified electoral process to avoid the unrest seen in other countries.
Minsk and Moscow have maintained close ties through the Union State partnership, especially during the Ukraine conflict, with Belarus acting as a strategic ally to Russia. In 2024, the two countries signed a security treaty, which includes plans to deploy Russia’s new hypersonic missile systems in Belarus by 2025.
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