III 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 658 

Calling for a free, fair, and transparent presidential election in Belarus 

taking place on August 9, 2020, including the unimpeded participation 

of all presidential candidates. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 27, 2020 

Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. RUBIO, and Mrs. SHAHEEN) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 

Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Calling for a free, fair, and transparent presidential election 

in Belarus taking place on August 9, 2020, including 

the unimpeded participation of all presidential candidates. 

Whereas long-term president Alyaksandr Lukashenko has 

ruled Belarus as an undemocratic dictatorship since the 

first presidential election in Belarus in 1994 and is running for a sixth term in office; 

Whereas the presidential elections in Belarus have been neither free nor fair and have been rejected by the international community as not meeting minimal electoral 

standards; 


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Whereas Belarus abolished presidential term limits in a referendum in 2004, and Lukashenko affirmed in November 

2019 that he plans to run again in 2025; 

Whereas, in the most recent 2010 and 2015 presidential elections, Lukashenko arbitrarily disqualified or jailed key 

opponents ahead of and after the elections; 

Whereas, in March 2011, the United States Senate unanimously passed a resolution condemning the Belarusian 

elections as illegitimate and calling on the Belarusian regime to immediately release all political prisoners; 

Whereas, according to the Department of State 2019 Country Report on Human Rights Practices for Belarus, 

Lukashenko has consolidated his rule over all institutions 

since his first term as president and undermined the rule 

of law through authoritarian means, including manipulated elections and arbitrary decrees, such that all subsequent presidential elections fell well short of international 

standards; 

Whereas the law of Belarus provides citizens the ability to 

choose their government in free and fair periodic elections held by secret ballot and based on universal and 

equal suffrage, but the Government of Belarus has consistently denied citizens that ability; 

Whereas flawed referendums in 1996 and 2004 amended the 

Constitution of Belarus to broaden the powers of 

Lukashenko, extend his term in office, and remove presidential term limits; 

Whereas appearances by opposition politicians on state media 

have historically been limited and such restrictions have 

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curity and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE/ODIHR), 

which has not recognized any elections in Belarus as free 

and fair since 1995; 

Whereas authorities in Belarus routinely impede the activities 

and legal status of opposition political parties by refusing 

to register them, while allowing approximately 6 largely 

inactive but officially registered pro-Lukashenko political 

parties to operate freely; 

Whereas the Central Election Commission of Belarus (CVK) 

disqualified the majority of potential candidates from the 

upcoming August 9, 2020, presidential election for politically motivated purposes; 

Whereas, on June 30, 2020, the Central Election Commission 

barred Valery Tsepkalo, a former Ambassador to the 

United States and First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and one of the major challengers to Lukashenko, 

from running in the presidential election; 

Whereas, on May 6, 2020, popular blogger Syarhey 

Tsikhanouski was arrested and jailed for 15 days prior 

to a rally he had planned for May 9, 2020, to challenge 

the decision by Lukashenko to hold a Victory Day military parade despite the coronavirus pandemic; 

Whereas, between May 6 and June 16, 2020, courts in 

Belarus convicted 97 individuals as part of a new wave 

of political persecution for ‘‘illegal protesting’’ and sentenced those individuals to various terms of detention for 

a total of 1,246 days, while 105 individuals were fined a 

total of 90,000 rubles, approximately 40,000 United 

States dollars; 

Whereas, on May 15, 2020, the Central Election Commission 

rejected the registration documents submitted by 


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Tsikhanouski for his candidacy for the presidential election; 

Whereas, on May 19, 2020, the Central Election Commission 

rejected the candidacy of opposition politician Mikalay 

Statkevich, who previously challenged Lukashenko in 

2010 and was incarcerated for 4 years and 8 months for 

protesting the disputed election, allegedly on the basis of 

his ‘‘criminal record’’; 

Whereas Statkevich was subsequently sentenced on June 1, 

2020, to 15 days in jail for taking part in an ‘‘unauthorized’’ opposition event in Minsk to collect signatures for 

his candidacy, was sentenced to another 15 days on June 

15, 2020, and still remains incarcerated as of July 27, 

2020; 

Whereas, on May 22, 2020, Human Rights Watch reported 

that between May 6 and 13, 2020, authorities in Belarus 

‘‘arbitrarily arrested over 120 peaceful protesters, opposition bloggers, journalists, and other critics of the government in 17 cities,’’ including Youth Block movement activists concerned about human rights and rule of law in 

Belarus, which ‘‘is particularly disturbing in light of the 

COVID–19 pandemic’’; 

Whereas, on May 29, 2020, Tsikhanouski was arrested again 

in Hrodna while collecting signatures for the presidential 

candidacy of his spouse, Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who 

is running in his stead, and Tsikhanouski was subsequently charged with ‘‘the organization and preparation 

of actions that severely violated public order’’; 

Whereas, on May 31, 2020, Belarusian human rights group 

Viasna (Spring) reported that 50 opposition activists 

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tures to allow opponents to participate in the presidential 

election; 

Whereas, on June 8, 2020, Paval Sevyarynets, co-chairman 

of the opposition Belarusian Christian Democratic Party, 

was sentenced to 15 days in jail for supporting independent presidential candidates in rallies in Minsk on 

June 7, 2020, and subsequently, on July 8, 2020, was 

sentenced to a fifth consecutive 15-day jail term; 

Whereas, on June 18, 2020, authorities arrested potential 

presidential challenger Viktar Babaryka and his son, 

Eduard, who heads his presidential campaign; 

Whereas, on June 19, 2020, the European Union issued a 

statement calling on the Government of Belarus to immediately release Babaryka and his son and called for an 

impartial investigation into the arrests; 

Whereas, according to the Belarusian Association of Journalists, on June 19, 2020, police officers detained at least 

14 journalists, including Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) reporter Alyaksandra Dynko and 

cameraperson Andrey Rabchyk, who were covering protests against the efforts of Lukashenko to undermine the 

electoral process; 

Whereas, on June 19, 2020, the United States Embassy in 

Minsk urged the Government of Belarus to ‘‘uphold its 

international commitments to respect fundamental freedoms’’; 

Whereas, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 

over 3 days starting on June 25, 2020, authorities arrested several bloggers, including Ihor Losik, Serhei 

Petrukhin, Aleksandr Kabanau, Volodimir Neronski, 

Aleksandr Andreyev, Volodimir Tsiganovich, and Serhei 


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Sparish, a move Amnesty International said represents 

‘‘a full-scale purge of dissenting voices’’; 

Whereas, on June 24, 2020, Representative Alcee L. Hastings, Chairman of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (commonly known as the ‘‘Helsinki 

Commission’’), released a statement noting that 

Belarusian authorities have made it impossible to hold 

free and fair elections by ‘‘arresting and intimidating 

presidential candidates, journalists, and activists in the 

early stages of campaigning,’’ and moreover, that 

‘‘[t]here can be no free choice when the system is rigged 

in favor of the incumbent,’’ and called upon Lukashenko 

to ‘‘order the release of those who have been detained for 

political reasons and allow real political competition in 

Belarus’’; 

Whereas, on June 29, 2020, Amnesty International issued a 

statement condemning that ‘‘[t]here is no safe environment for political debate in Belarus, and there is a growing crackdown on human rights in the context of the 

forthcoming election,’’ and moreover, ‘‘[o]pposition candidates along with their supporters are smeared, targeted 

and incarcerated under trumped-up charges, with women 

particularly targeted’’; 

Whereas, on July 3, 2020, in a statement commemorating 

the Independence Day of Belarus, Secretary of State 

Mike Pompeo urged the ‘‘government of Belarus to do 

everything in its power to ensure the upcoming elections 

are free and fair,’’ including ‘‘the right of a diverse range 

of candidates to participate in the campaign, the right of 

citizens to assemble peacefully and speak freely, and open 

and fair ballot counting’’; 


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Whereas, on July 14, 2020, the Central Election Commission 

ultimately approved only 5 candidates to run in the presidential election, namely, Lukashenko, Andrey 

Dzmitryyeu, Hanna Kanapatskaya, Syarhey Cherachan, 

and Tsikhanouskaya; 

Whereas, on July 14, 2020, during protests over the unjustified disqualification of several presidential candidates, authorities used unnecessary and excessive force to detain 

at least 220 individuals across the country; 

Whereas, on July 14, 2020, authorities detained at least 17 

journalists covering protests in Minsk, Brest, and Homel, 

including Katsiaryna Andreeva (and Ihar Ilyash when he 

sought her release) with Poland-registered broadcaster 

Belsat TV, Danil Palyanski with independent news 

website Pershiy Region, Artsiom Liava with independent 

news website Novy Chas, Aliaksei Sudnikau and 

Usevalad Zarubin with independent news website Tut.by, 

blogger Anatoly Chilik, Andy Smythe with BBC, Mikhail 

Ilyin and Artsiom Mayorau with Polish broadcaster 

Euroradio, and Ales Piletski and Andrey Rabchyk with 

RFE/RL; 

Whereas, on July 15, 2020, at least 2,000 people lined up 

to file complaints with the Central Election Commission 

for denying the candidacy registrations of Babaryka and 

Tsapkalo, and authorities detained another 16 people, including RFE/RL correspondent Anton Trofimovich and 

BelaPAN correspondent Violeta Savchyts; 

Whereas, on July 15, 2020, Amnesty International issued a 

statement in response to the arrest of protesters in Minsk 

on July 14, 2020, stating that ‘‘[a]nyone detained simply 

for peacefully protesting in Minsk, or other cities, is a 


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prisoner of conscience, and must be immediately and unconditionally released’’; and 

Whereas, on July 22, 2020, the Central Election Commission 

announced it will severely limit the number of observers 

during early voting and on election day: Now, therefore, 

be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) condemns the politically motived arrest and 

3 imprisonment of opposition candidates in Belarus, 

4 including Syarhey Tsikhanouski, Viktar Babaryka, 

5 and Mikalay Statkevich, and calls for their imme6 diate release and ability to compete in the August 9, 

7 2020, presidential election in Belarus; 

8 (2) condemns the arbitrary disqualification by 

9 the Central Election Commission of Belarus of the 

10 majority of the potential candidates for the August 

11 9, 2020, presidential election; 

12 (3) condemns the crackdown on and arbitrary 

13 arrests of peaceful protesters, opposition party mem14 bers, human rights activists, and independent media 

15 by authorities in Belarus; 

16 (4) stands in solidarity with the people of 

17 Belarus, including human rights defenders, bloggers, 

18 and journalists, who are exercising their right to 

19 freedom of assembly, freedom of expression, and rule 

20 of law; and 


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1 (5) calls on Belarus to hold free, fair, and in2 clusive presidential elections on August 9, 2020, that 

3 meet international standards and include credible 

4 international election monitoring. 

Æ 


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