Election turnout in Belarus surpasses 50% amidst controversy
The Central Commission of the Republic of Belarus for Elections and National Referendums declared the presidential election results in Belarus valid and binding around noon on January 26th. New data on voter turnout were also provided.
Much of the information relayed by Russian media or government representatives is propaganda. Such reports are part of the information war conducted by the Russian Federation and Belarus.
The "presidential elections" in Belarus are ongoing. Alexander Lukashenko, who is running for another term and is virtually assured of victory due to frequent manipulations already evident in previous years, has cast his vote.
At 07:00 AM GMT, during a press conference, it was reported that the turnout was 47.56%. The Belarusian Central Commission scheduled another conference for 09:00 AM (local time).
At midday, the Deputy Chairman of the Commission, Alexei Bashan, announced that the number of voters had already exceeded 50%. According to a statement quoted by the RIA agency, 56.64% of those eligible to vote had already voted by this time.
"In the Brest Region, over 61% voted; in Homel - 62%; in Vitebsk, Grodno, and Minsk - over 54%; in Mogilev - over 58%; and in Minsk - over 51%," it was reported.
Besides Lukashenko, four other candidates are "competing" for the presidency. They are:
- the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Belarus, Oleg Gaidukevich;
- the leader of the Republican Labour and Justice Party, Alexander Khizniak;
- the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Belarus, Sergey Syrankov;
- a former candidate in previous elections, entrepreneur, and independent, Anna Kanopatskaya.
As reported by the RIA agency, the ballot papers also include an option for "against all".
