After Lukashenka’s Election Farce, Belarus Needs Even More Support

Tallinn, 21.03.06 – According to the assessment of the Open Estonia Foundation, the Belarus presidential elections were undemocratic and took place in a general atmosphere of fear. It was not possible for independent election observers, including civil society organizations, to freely observe the elections.

According to official information, current President Lukashenka received 82% of the vote, but the Levada research agency located in Moscow asserts that his support was close to 47%. According to the same source, support for the main opposition candidate Milinkevich was 25.6%, which would mean a second round of elections.

Election observers sent by the Open Estonia Foundation noted that the Belarusians were in fear during the elections and were even afraid to express their opinions in private conversations. In addition to a one-sided election campaign, intimidation, and repression of citizens, and abuses of state power to influence the election results, Belarus has inhibited the activities of the civil society in an undemocratic manner.

The election observers who entered the country were also closely watched by intelligence forces, the access to polling stations and vote counting was inadequate, and two election observers sent by the Open Estonia Foundation were taken into custody and interrogated.

“The Estonians are now safely on their way home. At the same time, all signs indicate that Lukashenka will now start to settle accounts with Belarusian dissidents at home, and therefore, we must now forget Belarus after the elections,” emphasized Mall Hellam, executive director of the Open Estonia Foundation.

There are many possibilities for supporting the victims of political repression suffering under the Belarusian dictatorship. All Estonians can show their support by making even a small donation to the Belarus Solidarity Fund (www.BelarusSolidarity.org ) registered in Brussels.

This summer, the Open Estonia Foundation is supporting the participation of Belarusian university students in study courses at the University of Tartu.

On Belarus Solidarity Day, marked around the world on the 16th of every month, people extinguish the lights in their homes for 15 minutes and light candles in their windows to commemorate the victims of the dictatorship.

The Open Estonia Foundation had planned to send 14 election observers to Belarus, of whom 11 were granted visas. Election observers do not have the right to interfere in the election process, but based on their observations and analyses, it is assessed whether the elections were fair, open, and democratic. Many organizations and countries have confirmed that the Belarusian presidential elections did not meet these criteria.