Belarusians abroad will be deprived of the right to vote in presidential elections

Outside Belarus, polling stations will not be set up for foreign nationals. A site will be created for them in Minsk. The head of the Central Election Commission of Belarus, Igor Karpenko, announced this on Thursday, October 24, writes BelTA.

“The law of Belarus does not provide for the creation of sites abroad,” he said.

“For citizens who may come from abroad to participate in the vote and do not have registration here, we traditionally organize a polling station in Minsk,” the official explained.

According to him, how to organize sites for Belarusians from abroad will still be discussed at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the corresponding consular lists will be received from diplomats.

In this regard, the human rights center Viasna recalled in September 2024 that since the beginning of the year, the country’s authorities detained 55 returning Belarusians. Criminal charges have been initiated against 17 of them.

On January 25, 2024, elections were held in Belarus in the House of Representatives (this is the lower house of the National Assembly) of local authorities, especially village councils, and the Council of the Republic was also formed. Then Belarusians abroad cannot vote either, according to the new electoral law.

The Central Election Commission, which is controlled by the ruling regime of Belarus, has scheduled the next presidential election for January 26, 2025.

Belarusian oppositionist Kolesnikova has been out of touch for a year and a half