Editing Belarus (section)

===Elections===
Lukashenko was officially re-elected as president [[2001 Belarusian presidential election|in 2001]], [[2006 Belarusian presidential election|in 2006]], [[2010 Belarusian presidential election|in 2010]], [[2015 Belarusian presidential election|in 2015]] and again [[2020 Belarusian presidential election|in 2020]], although none of those elections were considered free or fair nor democratic.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/1534621.stm Belarus vote 'neither free nor fair'] BBC News, 10 September 2001</ref><ref>[http://www.osce.org/odihr/elections/belarus/19395 Republic of Belarus Presidential Election 19 March 2006: OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission Report] OSCE</ref><ref name="osce-preliminary">{{cite web |author=OSCE |date=20 December 2010 |title=Statement of Preliminary Findings and Conclusions |url=http://www.osce.org/item/48240.html |format=PDF}}</ref><ref name="Bedford">{{Cite journal |author=Sofie Bedford |date=2017 |title="The Election Game": Authoritarian Consolidation Processes in Belarus |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/675780/summary |journal=Demokratizatsiya: The Journal of Post-Soviet Democratization |volume=25 |pages=381–305 |quote=officially the [EU] sanctions were reduced as a 'reward' for the 2015 presidential elections being peaceful and non-violent, despite the fact that these elections were just as non-democratic as any previous election in Belarus |number=4}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author1=Foreign Affairs |author2=International Trade Canada |date=25 September 2012 |title=Standing up for Free and Fair Elections in Belarus |url=http://www.international.gc.ca/media/aff/news-communiques/2012/09/25a.aspx?view=d |access-date=7 January 2013 |publisher=Government of Canada}}</ref><ref name="Authoritarian">{{Cite web |last=Jones |first=Mark P. |date=2018 |title=Presidential and Legislative Elections |url=https://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190258658.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780190258658-e-23 |access-date=21 May 2020 |website=The Oxford Handbook of Electoral Systems |pages=282–302 |language=en |doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190258658.013.23 |isbn=978-0-19-025865-8 |quote="unanimous agreement among serious scholars that... Lukashenko's 2015 election occurred within an authoritarian context." |editor-first1=Erik S |editor-first2=Robert J |editor-first3=Matthew S |editor-last1=Herron |editor-last2=Pekkanen |editor-last3=Shugart}}</ref><ref name="Haraszti">[https://news.un.org/en/story/2015/10/512522-belarus-election-neither-free-nor-fair-says-un-human-rights-expert Belarus election 'neither free nor fair,' says UN human rights expert], United Nations (13 October 2015).</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=1 September 2020 |title=Belarus poll workers describe fraud in Aug. 9 election |publisher=AP |url=https://apnews.com/article/international-news-ap-top-news-europe-72e43a8b9e4c56362d4c1d6393bd54fb |access-date=1 March 2022}}</ref><ref name="Belarus_election_notdemo">{{Cite web |last=Jones |first=Mark P. |date=2018 |editor1-last=Herron |editor1-first=Erik S |editor2-last=Pekkanen |editor2-first=Robert J |editor3-last=Shugart |editor3-first=Matthew S |title=Presidential and Legislative Elections |url=https://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190258658.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780190258658-e-23 |access-date=21 May 2020 |website=The Oxford Handbook of Electoral Systems |language=en |doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190258658.001.0001 |isbn=978-0-19-025865-8 |quote="unanimous agreement among serious scholars that... Lukashenko's 2015 election occurred within an authoritarian context."}}</ref><ref name="atlanticcouncil_about_elections">{{cite news |date=10 August 2020 |title=Lukashenka vs. democracy: Where is Belarus heading? |website=AtlanticCouncil |url=https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/lukashenko-vs-democracy-where-is-belarus-heading/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200812183957/https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/lukashenko-vs-democracy-where-is-belarus-heading/ |archive-date=12 August 2020 |quote=However, the vote was marred by allegations of widespread fraud. These suspicions appeared to be confirmed by data from a limited number of polling stations that broke ranks with the government and identified opposition candidate Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya as the clear winner.}}</ref>[[File:Flag of Belarus in Budejovice.jpg|thumb|The [[White-red-white flag|former flag of Belarus]], used in 1918, then [[Belarusian Central Council|in 1943–44]] and then between 1991 and 1995, is widely used as a symbol of opposition to the government of Alexander Lukashenko.]]
Neither the pro-Lukashenko parties, such as the [[Belarusian Social Sporting Party]] and the [[Republican Party of Labour and Justice]] (RPTS), nor the [[People's Coalition 5 Plus]] opposition parties, such as the [[BPF Party]] and the [[United Civic Party]], won any seats in the [[2004 Belarusian parliamentary election|2004 elections]]. The [[Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe]] (OSCE) ruled that the elections were unfair because opposition candidates were arbitrarily denied registration and the election process was designed to favor the ruling party.<ref name="OSCE">{{cite web|url=http://www.osce.org/odihr/elections/belarus/38658|format=PDF|title=OSCE Report on the October 2004 parliamentary elections|date=December 2004|publisher=Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe|access-date=21 March 2007}}</ref>

[[File:Belarus-Minsk-Opposition_Protests_2006.03.19.jpg|thumb|right|Protests at [[October Square, Minsk|October Square]] in Minsk in 2006 after the [[2006 Belarusian presidential election]]]]
In the [[2006 Belarusian presidential election|2006 presidential election]], Lukashenko was opposed by [[Alaksandar Milinkievič]], who represented a coalition of opposition parties, and by [[Alyaksandr Kazulin]] of the Social Democrats. Kazulin was detained and beaten by police during protests surrounding the [[All Belarusian People's Assembly]]. Lukashenko won the election with 80% of the vote; the Russian Federation and the [[Commonwealth of Independent States|CIS]] deemed the vote open and fair<ref>{{cite web|url=http://assembly.coe.int/Main.asp?link=/Documents/WorkingDocs/Doc06/EDOC10890.pdf|title=Belarus in the aftermath of the Presidential election of 19 March 2006|access-date=25 May 2010|date=11 April 2006|publisher=Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111084334/http://assembly.coe.int/Main.asp?link=%2FDocuments%2FWorkingDocs%2FDoc06%2FEDOC10890.pdf|archive-date=11 January 2012}}</ref> while the OSCE and other organizations called the election unfair.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4766024.stm|date=2 March 2006|title=Belarus rally marred by arrests|work=BBC News|access-date=26 March 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060313155728/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4766024.stm|archive-date=13 March 2006|url-status=live}}</ref>

After the December completion of the [[2010 Belarusian presidential election|2010 presidential election]], Lukashenko was elected to a fourth straight term with nearly 80% of the vote in elections. The runner-up opposition leader [[Andrei Sannikov]] received less than 3% of the vote; independent observers criticized the election as fraudulent. When opposition protesters took to the streets in Minsk, many people, including some presidential candidates, were beaten and arrested by the riot police.<ref name="telegraph">{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/belarus/8224956/Police-guard-threatened-to-rape-Belarus-Free-Theatre-director-after-election-protest.html|title=Police guard threatened to rape Belarus Free Theatre director after election protest|last=Oliphant|first=Roland|date=25 December 2010|work=The Daily Telegraph|access-date=22 April 2011|location=London |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110311053243/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/belarus/8224956/Police-guard-threatened-to-rape-Belarus-Free-Theatre-director-after-election-protest.html|archive-date=11 March 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> Many of the candidates, including Sannikov, were sentenced to prison or house arrest for terms which are mainly and typically over four years.<ref name="SannikovSentenced">[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13400666 Belarus opposition leader Andrei Sannikov jailed], [[BBC News Online]] (14 May 2011)</ref><ref name="kyi">{{cite news|url=http://www.kyivpost.com/news/russia/detail/93334|title=Belarus: 7 presidential candidates face 15 years|newspaper=[[Kyiv Post]]|date=22 December 2010|access-date=23 December 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110119193447/http://www.kyivpost.com/news/russia/detail/93334|archive-date=19 January 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> Six months later amid an unprecedented economic crisis, activists utilized social networking to initiate a fresh round of protests characterized by wordless hand-clapping.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2081858,00.html|author=Motlagh, Jason|title=Why Belarus' Dictator Is Not Fond of Applause|magazine=Time|access-date=8 July 2011|date=7 July 2011|archive-date=7 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130907080044/http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2081858,00.html}}</ref>

In the [[2012 Belarusian parliamentary election|2012 parliamentary election]], 105 of the 110 members elected to the House of Representatives were not affiliated with any political party. The [[Communist Party of Belarus]] won 3 seats, and the [[Belarusian Agrarian Party]] and RPTS, one each.<ref>{{cite web |author=Wolfram Nordsieck |date=2012 |title=Belarus |url=http://www.parties-and-elections.eu/belarus.html |access-date=18 March 2015 |publisher=Parties and Elections in Europe}}</ref> Most non-partisans represent a wide scope of social organizations such as workers' collectives, public associations, and civil society organizations, similar to the composition of the Soviet legislature.<ref>{{cite web |title=Soviet Local Government |url=http://kibristasosyalistgercek.net/english/localGov/local_gov.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090221062403/http://kibristasosyalistgercek.net/english/localGov/local_gov.html |archive-date=21 February 2009 |access-date=18 July 2010 |url-status=usurped |publisher=Russia Today Society}}</ref>

In the [[2020 Belarusian presidential election|2020 presidential election]], Lukashenko won again with official results giving him 80% of the vote, leading to [[2020–2021 Belarusian protests|mass protests]]. The [[European Union]] and the [[United Kingdom]] did not recognise the result and the EU imposed sanctions.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.sky.com/story/eu-threatens-belarus-sanctions-as-it-rejects-election-result-12052472|title=Belarus: EU imposes sanctions as Lukashenko orders police to clear the streets|website=Sky News|date=19 August 2020}}</ref>