DISINFO: No evidence of vote-rigging in Belarus election
SUMMARY
On August 9, incumbent leader Alexander Lukashenko won the presidential elections in Belarus for the sixth time, gaining 80.1 percent of the vote. The Western-backed opposition claims that Tikhanovskaya, not Lukashenko, won the election, as usual, without showing any credible evidence.
RESPONSE
Recurring disinformation narrative about the 2020 presidential election in Belarus. A considerable body of evidence suggests that the election was neither free nor fair. The poll was not overseen by any recognised monitoring body. The OSCE notes it was unable to observe key aspects of the electoral process given "[t]he lack of a timely invitation more than two months after the announcement of the election." The entire election campaign was marred by reports of intimidation and violence on the part of Belarusian law enforcement. A post-election brief by the OSCE highlights "evidence of excessive use of force by police across Belarus in the face of overwhelmingly peaceful protests," including attacks on protesters, independent election monitors, and journalists. More than 6,000 people were arrested in the first three days of post-election protests. The EU does not recognize the election results presented by the Belarusian authorities, as the election process did not meet the international standards expected of a participating state of the OSCE. According to statistical data and independent observers, the official result of the presidential election was itself heavily doctored. A joint monitoring effort by three NGOs demonstrates the scale of falsification based on election protocols from 1,310 polling stations across Belarus, and concludes that the announced result (80% of votes cast for Lukashenka) is mathematically "impossible" (p. 7). An analysis by the Novaya Gazeta newspaper shows that excluding "anomalous" voting districts from the official tally would see Lukashenka's percentage drop to 43%, and Tsikhanouskaya's surge to 45%, in which case a second round would have to be called. Several days after the election, the chairman of a local election commission in Vitsebsk admitted that the results in his district had been falsified on the personal orders of the region's governor.