A crackdown since the contested 2020 election has brought mass arrests, raids and journalists fleeing into exile, analysts say

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko pardoned 15 prisoners on Friday in what state media called a humanitarian gesture, two days before an election in which he is set to further extend his 31-year rule.

Belarusians will go to the polls for “presidential elections,” an event seen by many as a “sham,” a “no-choice election” (bezvybory), and little more than a ritual for Aliaksandr Lukashenka, who has been president of Belarus for more than three decades.

Many voters intend to shun this weekend’s presidential election in Belarus, according to research carried out by Chatham House.

A close ally of Vladimir Putin, Lukashenko has been nicknamed Europe’s last dictator, and has brutally cracked down on opposition figures and made the country a key staging ground for Russia’s war in Ukraine. Among the many dissident leaders now in exile is Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, whose husband remains in prison in Belarus.

After five years of inflicting an unprecedented crackdown on the press, Alexander Lukashenko is set to run for a seventh presidential term on Sunday, 26 January. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has filed a complaint with the International Criminal Court (ICC) against the Belarusian leader for crimes against humanity,

You are unique, that is why Belarus is unique too, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said as he attended the final concert of the Marathon of Unity campaign on 24 January.

OSCE observers not invited to monitor upcoming presidential election in Belarus. Belarus to host over 13,000 Russian troops for Zapad-2025 joint military drills with Russia. Belarusian state TV airs a propaganda film with jailed journalists,

Belarus is holding a presidential election on Sunday that will secure another five-year mandate for Alexander Lukashenko, who has been in power for over three decades and crushed all opposition.

Belarus is not creating problems for its neighbors and all other countries and will never do so, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said as he attended the final concert of the Marathon of Unity campaign on 24 January.

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