Parliamentary election in Belarus 2008
The parliamentary elections in Belarus in 2008 took place on September 28, 2008. A total of 263 candidates strove for one of the 110 seats in the House of Representatives . About seven million people were eligible to vote. If the elections were correct, the European Union, which since 1996 had always refused to recognize the elections in Belarus on the basis of allegations of abuse and manipulation, promised to ease its sanctions against Belarus.
Candidates
Originally, 365 candidates ran for election. Of these, five withdrew their candidacy, 84 were refused entry. Of the rejected candidates, 52 turned to the OSCE, eight of which were then approved for registration. The number of candidates was again reduced before the election. Of the remaining 263 candidates, around 70 were from the opposition alliance United Democratic Forces. According to the Human Rights Initiative for Free Elections , some of the signatories for the opposition parties' signature lists denied the authenticity of their signature for fear of losing their jobs.
Election process
The opposition complained that the conditions were unfair because their rallies had been broken up by the police and the free distribution of campaign material had been hindered. Furthermore, students and workers in state dormitories were forced to vote. The electoral commission announced that 25 percent of voters had cast their vote before election day. The urns used for this are said to have remained unguarded. After the polling stations closed, there were protests by the opposition on October Square in Minsk. One day after the election, the electoral commission announced that no opposition candidate had made it into parliament.
The election itself was monitored by 41 long-term and 300 short-term observers from the OSCE . A total of 449 OSCE observers attended the election on election day. 48 percent of the counts observed were rated as bad or very bad. Overall, the election did not meet the OSCE's requirements for a free and fair election. The head of the Russian electoral commission, Vladimir Churov, describes the election as "the free expression of will of the Belarusian citizens" .
Result
| Political party | Number of MPs | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Number of MPs | ||
| Liberal Democratic Party | 7th | 0 | |
| United Citizens' Party of Belarus | 13 | 0 | |
| Party yes BNF | 4th | 0 | |
| Communist Party of Belarus | 15th | 6th | |
| Belarusian United Left Party "Just World" | 9 | 0 | |
| Belarusian Social Democratic Party (Hramada) | 5 | 0 | |
| Republican Party for Labor and Justice | 4th | 0 | |
| Republican Party | 1 | 0 | |
| Agrarian Party (Belarus) | 1 | 1 | |
In the elections, only members of parliament loyal to the government entered parliament. The Communist Party of Belarus won 6 seats and the Agrarian Party got a parliamentary mandate. The turnout was 75.3 percent.
Individual evidence
- ↑ focus.de, parliamentary elections in Belarus as a test for opening up , accessed on Sept. 28, 2008
- ↑ law.by, 276 candidates for House of Representatives registered in Belarus , Aug. 29, 2008 ( Memento from July 6, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ , Parliamentary Elections, 2008 Republic of Belarus - Interim Report No. 2 August 31 - September 13, 2008 , accessed September 28, 2008
- ^ Belarusian opposition protests after election ( Memento from September 28, 2008 in the Internet Archive ), kleinezeitung.at, September 28, 2008
- ↑ Page no longer available , search in web archives: belarusnews.de, election observation in Belarus: No free and fair election campaign expected , Sept. 2, 2008
- ↑ Parliamentary election ended - test for democracy in Belarus, Sept. 28, 2008 ( Memento from October 1, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ Page no longer available , search in web archives: belarusnews.de, Protests after parliamentary elections in Belarus: Opposition speaks of manipulation , Sept. 28, 2008
- ^ Nzz.ch, Opposition criticism of parliamentary elections in Belarus , Sept. 28, 2008
- ↑ "Ballot boxes unguarded all night"
- ↑ belarusnews.de, street protests in Minsk against the rigged parliamentary elections , Sept. 28, 2008 ( Memento of October 4, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Parliamentary elections in Belarus - the opposition is apparently only allowed to watch , Sept. 29, 2008 ( Memento of October 2, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ osce.org, Election observation mission - Observation of parliamentary elections in Belarus ( Memento of March 1, 2009 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on September 28, 2008
- ↑ OSCE, OSCE Election observation mission: Statement of preliminary findings and conclusions , accessed on September 29, 2008
- ↑ Belarus ( Memento of the original from October 2, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Parliamentary election: Opposition does not win a single seat - protests in Belarus
.svg)