Belarus election: Hundreds protest after Lukashenko’s rivals barred

(FASTNEWS | COLOMBO) – Protests have erupted in Belarus, with hundreds rallying against the barring of two leading opposition candidates in next month’s presidential election.

Belarus’s electoral commission rejected the applications of President Alexander Lukashenko’s main rivals, Valery Tsepkalo and Viktor Babaryko.

In power since 1994, Mr Lukashenko is now virtually assured to win the poll.

The commission’s decision was followed by protests in the capital, Minsk, and other cities.

The demonstrations were largely peaceful in Minsk, where protesters broke into rounds of applause, while passing drivers honked their horns in support.

“We are categorically for honest and fair elections,” one protester in the capital told Reuters news agency.

There were reports of other rallies in the cities of Grodno, Gomel and Brest as well, with images posted to social media networks.

More than 35 people, including several journalists, were arrested during the protests, rights group Viasna said.

The protests were the latest show of discontent against the government following the arrests of opposition figures ahead of the election on 9 August.

Why were the opposition candidates barred?

On Tuesday the electoral commission said it found problems with the applications of Mr Tsepkalo and Mr Babaryko, both vocal critics of Mr Lukashenko.

Mr Babaryko, who was seen as Mr Lukashenko’s strongest contender, was excluded from the ballot because of a criminal case against him, the commission said.

The former banker’s arrest last month on suspicion of money laundering brought angry crowds to the streets, with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen calling his detention “politically motivated”. BBC