A new vote or what we should expect from the opposition in Belarus?

Kremlin relations

On the night of August 9 and 10, 2020, almost all the well-known protests in Belarus began. The main reason for them was the results of voting in the presidential elections, or rather the possibility of their falsification. According to official information, Alexander Lukashenko won the election for the sixth time. According to the citizens of Belarus, the new president should have been Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who was detained in a short period of time after the elections, and now she is “at large”.

On March 18, 2021, Belarusian politician Svetlana Tikhanovskaya addressed the Belarusians who actively participated in the protests and fought “for freedom”. She announced the beginning of a nationwide vote, which involves resolving the “crisis” in the country through negotiations with international mediation. However, it’s not a substitute and alternative to the protests, but, on the contrary, it’s a supplement to them.  

According to Svetlana: “A vote for negotiations is a vote for the salvation of hundreds of prisoners suffering in prison for their opinions, it’s a step towards a state where people and their views are respected, where fair wages and prices, and what is very important — it’s a concrete signal for international partners to act. We are launching this vote in order to hold talks with those representatives of the regime who are ready to think about the future and make mature decisions, rather than prolong the crisis to a complete catastrophe, and there are such people.”

Negotiations are planned to be held between representatives of the opposition and representatives of the current government of the state. They will be a series of meetings at different levels. The negotiating teams will have to come to a common decision on how to lead the country out of the current crisis, without allowing new victims and without making secret deals.

Фото: Stephanie Lecocq / EPA / ТАСС

Tikhanovskaya mentioned, that for 7 months she has worked with foreign organizations and politicians, enlisted their support and, thus, they are ready to help. According to her speech, international organizations such as the UN and the OSCE are ready to become mediators, organize a neutral platform for negotiations and force the regime to negotiate.

Before March 25, together with the coordinating council of “Bypol”, solidarity funds and other democratic forces, a large-scale launch of voting on the “Golos” platform is planned, so that the first results of voting can already be seen by the Freedom Day. 

The statement ends with the following words of the politician, which are a call to vote:

“Now it’s time to finish the job! We will build a new Belarus together, and no one will do it for us!»