By Abril Bulos Touzard
Citizens in Minsk, Belarus are currently protesting against dictator Aleksandr Lukashenkow due to his supposedly “rigged and false” win in the August 9th preliminary elections.
The Belarusian government is currently under fire due to the corrupt reelection of president Aleksandr Lukashenko. On the same evening, as poll stations closed, it was transmitted through Belarusian government-sponsored tv that Lukashenko had won, with 80.23% of votes in his favor, against the politician Svetlana Tijanóvskaya, with 9.9% of votes in her favor. The news took by surprise not only the opposing political party but the whole nation because, as stated by BBC, “her campaign said she had been polling 70-80% of votes”. This caused an immediate and raging protest from Tijanóvskaya’s supporters. This win was important because the politician who wins the primary election (to decide which politician will represent the party), will also win the final elections since the Independent party (which they represent) is the biggest in Belarus.
Protesters and Belarusian citizens are tired of Lukashenko’s abuse and will not accept him into power anymore. As a result, the peaceful and respectful protests turned into a disastrous massacre led by the military as they used tear gas, rubber bullets, and water cannons at Lukashenko’s orders, resulting in the death of one protester and about 120 being arrested on that Sunday alone. Nonetheless, citizens did not and will not stop protesting.
The government decided to cut the signal in the Minsk square (the center point for the protest) as a tactic to prevent footage of the military’s physical abuse from surfacing around the world. Most specifically from reaching former countries which were a part of the Soviet Union and the United States of America. The fact that they don't reach these countries is specifically important because they have the interest and power to stop the situation since Lukashenko is the last dictator in Europe. However, this did not prevent citizens from finding a way to share the horrifying videos, causing the leaders of the previously mentioned countries to disagree with Lukashenko’s actions. As other countries have become involved and expressed their doubt and even rejection of the preliminary results, a referendum was requested but quickly denied by Lukashenko. (CBS News)
Even though there have been multiple deaths and more than 100 injuries, it appears that neither Lukashenko and his government nor protesters plan on backing down in this fight. Therefore, there is no predictable outcome to this situation except that the number of deaths and injuries will increase. Along with the devastating news and outcomes of the global pandemic, there have been major political headlines receiving press but not this one. Leading me to the following question: Is it because we have become indifferent to these situations due to their consistency? Have we normalized the abuse of power in government?
Bibliography:
“Belarus Election: Clashes after Poll Predicts Lukashenko Re-Election.” BBC News, BBC, 10 Aug. 2020
“Belarus Protests: Two Opposition Figures Jailed.” BBC News, BBC, 25 Aug. 2020,
Redacción. “Protestas En Bielorrusia: 4 Claves Para Entender Las Mayores Manifestaciones En El País Desde La Caída De La Unión Soviética.” BBC News Mundo, BBC, 19 Aug. 2020,
Roache, Madeline. “Belarus Protests: What's Behind the Rally Against Lukashenko.” Time, Time, 18 Aug. 2020,