Belarus's Central Election Commission (CEC) said five candidates, including Alyaksandr Lukashenka, have been registered for a presidential election next month, the first since balloting in 2020 triggered mass unrest amid claims of victory by the 70-year-old authoritarian ruler, who has since wiped out almost all traces of opposition and dissent in the country.
Lukashenka, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, is expected to easily cruise to a seventh consecutive term in office as the other four candidates announced by CEC on December 23 are seen as being pro-government.
"Lukashenka has announced the date of his 'reelection' -- January 26. It’s a sham with no real electoral process, conducted in an atmosphere of terror," exiled opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who ran against Lukashenka in the August 2020 election after her husband, Syarhey Tsikhanouski, was arrested and jailed during the campaign, said on X when the January vote was first announced.
"No alternative candidates or observers will be allowed. We call on Belarusians and the international community to reject this farce," she added.
Along with Lukashenka, the CEC said Oleh Gaidukevich, Serhey Syrankov, Anna Konapatskaya, and Alyaksandr Khizhnyak were approved to run in the vote.
Massive street protests followed the disputed 2020 presidential election that extended Lukashenka's long-standing rule for another term.
The election was widely condemned as fraudulent by the United States, the European Union, and other international actors.
The protests, which demanded Lukashenka's resignation, were met with mass arrests, alleged torture, and violent crackdowns that left several people dead.
Tsikhanouski, as well as other opposition politicians and activists, were arrested and many were sentenced to lengthy prison terms.
Many opposition leaders remain imprisoned or in exile, while Lukashenka refuses dialogue with his critics.
Tsikhanouskaya was forced into exile in 2020. Her husband was later convicted of organizing riots among other charges following a trial condemned as a sham and sentenced to 18 years in prison.