According to Minsk analysts, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenka is in danger of losing the October 17 referendum. Scheduled in conjunction with parliamentary elections, the referendum seeks to eliminate the presidential two-term limit. In addition, Lukashenka has been potentially ostracized by the unanimous passage of the... MORE

The joint parliamentary election and referendum campaign in Belarus is well under way. Last week, President Alexander Lukashenka outlined his platform to students at the Brest State Technical University. He has developed three main themes for the campaign: the nature of the presidency; the economic... MORE

September 6-16 saw a frantic period of activity in Belarus, as candidates applied to the Central Election Commission to be registered for the October 17 election to the House of Representatives. Unlike the parliamentary race in 2000, all opposition parties except for the Conservative Christian... MORE

On September 7, Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka announced that a referendum would be held on whether he may run for a third term in office on October 17, the date of the parliamentary elections. Though many analysts had predicted such a decision, its timing was... MORE

In late August, the Belarusian authorities brought a new criminal case against Mikhail Marynich, an opposition leader who has been held in a KGB detention center since April 26. Marynich had been Minister of Foreign Economic Relations, but he was removed from his position, ostensibly... MORE

U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ), whose application for a Belarusian visa was rejected in late August, has declared that the world community will help the people of Belarus to overthrow the regime of President Alyaksandr Lukashenka. McCain emphasized that a regime change did not imply... MORE

On July 28, Alyaksandr Radzkou, Minister of Education of Belarus, annulled the license of the European Humanities University (EHU). The university is located on Skaryna Avenue, close to the center of Minsk, in a building leased from the presidential administration. Its 300 faculty and 1,000... MORE

The latest survey conducted by the Minsk-based Independent Institute of Socio-Economic and Political Studies in June 2004 suggests that there is a new pool of contenders for the Belarusian presidency (iiseps.by). However, the electorate remains unconvinced that any of the individuals could mount a realistic... MORE

On July 21, OMON troops attacked and clubbed demonstrators around Yakub Kolas Square on Skaryna Avenue in Minsk who were protesting the president's ten years in power and likely referendum to run for a third term. The protest action was organized by several opposition groups,... MORE

Meeting on June 5 in Sochi, Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Alyaksandr Lukashenka of Belarus agreed that the pace of formalizing the two states unification is "not to be rushed artificially," and that Moscow and Minsk should in the meantime focus on bilateral economic... MORE