Belarus election hopefuls echo Lukashenko's unwavering stance
The Central Election Commission has registered four potential candidates for the presidency of Belarus: Alexander Lukashenko, Oleg Gaidukevich, Alexander Khizhnyak, and Olga Chemodanova. Four additional applications are under review. According to the independent portal Zerkalo, all support the dictator's policies.
The three already registered candidates consistently declare their full support for Lukashenko and his policies' main directions, making it unclear why these individuals have submitted their candidacies.
First among them is Oleg Gaidukevich. The head of the Liberal Democratic Party of Belarus has repeatedly praised the foreign policy actions of his future opponent. Gaidukevich discussed peaceful initiatives following the Russian invasion of Ukraine: - Alexander Lukashenko conveys to the West: we will not succumb to your provocations. [...] Alexander Lukashenko fights for peace in Europe - he listed.
- Alexander Lukashenko, who burst onto the dull Belarusian political scene like a meteor, impressed me from the beginning. He immediately started saying things that others were afraid to - these are Gaidukevich's words from the '90s.
In May 2024, Gaidukevich claimed that "Lukashenko lives in sync with Belarusians and their concerns." - Every Belarusian family wants peace, a salary, the construction of a flat, effective healthcare, education - to be able to send their children to a sports-health centre, for a House of Culture to be established, to be able to relax and live normally. I want the country to prosper - he listed.
Another candidate, Alexander Khizhnyak, just a week ago announced that his party would support Alexander Lukashenko in the elections.
In November 2023, Khizhnyak supported the purge of opposition parties and organizations initiated by Lukashenko. In February 2024, he called Lukashenko a "strong leader" and stated that the Belarusian people supporting the politician found it to be the "right choice."
Also, Olga Chemodanova, in her public speeches, practically idolises Lukashenko. She justified the murderers of Roman Bondarenko, calling them "caring citizens trying to restore order."
In May 2024, Chemodanova, in an interview, credited Lukashenko with the fact that Belarus's economy is developing and children are going to school "in a calm and safe country."
Considering more applications
To the three "competitors" described above, three more can be added - their applications for registration are being considered. However, judging by these individuals' statements, they are not oppositionists in relation to Lukashenko.
The first among them is the former head of the Belarusian Military Academy, retired Major General Sergey Bobrikov, who, for a second term, leads the pro-government Belarusian Officers' Union. Under his leadership, this organisation supports the current government.
The next person who submitted an application to the CEC is Anna Kanopatskaya. Although after the 2016 elections, she became one of two opposition deputies in the House of Representatives, and before the 2020 elections, she criticised Lukashenko, calling him a dictator, and blamed Lukashenko's regime for Belarus being in a terrible demographic hole under his rule, maintaining a backward industry, and ineffective agriculture. She spoke of a gigantic foreign debt, enormous administrative costs, and repressive apparatus. In 2020, she called herself the only opposition pro-European politician and rival of the "current president."
Despite these actions, after the elections, she repeated state propaganda narratives. Furthermore, even as a deputy, she developed and submitted to parliament a bill on guarantees for Lukashenko and his family after he steps down.
After the elections and the suppression of the main wave of protests against fraud and violence by security forces in February 2021, Kanopatskaya called the Lukashenko supporters gathered there "winners" and stated that "there were more of them" and "they turned out to be stronger, more united, more organised."
Another individual seeking to register her candidacy is businesswoman Diana Kovaleva. The 2025 elections will mark the beginning of her political career. It can be assumed, with high probability, that her views will not significantly deviate from those of the other candidates.
The last person who submitted his documents to the CEC was the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the pro-government Communist Party of Belarus, Sergey Syrankov. He recently stated that the country, under Lukashenko's leadership, "has achieved recognition, respect, and authority on the international stage."
