Title: A 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.
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
This resolution condemns antidemocratic practices with regard to the 2020 presidential election in Belarus, including the politically motivated arrest of opposition candidates and peaceful protestors. The resolution expresses solidarity with the people of Belarus and calls on Belarus to hold free and fair presidential elections.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 658 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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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;
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 been strongly criticized by the 
        Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organization 
        for Security 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 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 were arrested by police while they were 
        gathering signatures 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 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'';
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 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
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) condemns the politically motived arrest and 
        imprisonment of opposition candidates in Belarus, including 
        Syarhey Tsikhanouski, Viktar Babaryka, and Mikalay Statkevich, 
        and calls for their immediate release and ability to compete in 
        the August 9, 2020, presidential election in Belarus;
            (2) condemns the arbitrary disqualification by the Central 
        Election Commission of Belarus of the majority of the potential 
        candidates for the August 9, 2020, presidential election;
            (3) condemns the crackdown on and arbitrary arrests of 
        peaceful protesters, opposition party members, human rights 
        activists, and independent media by authorities in Belarus;
            (4) stands in solidarity with the people of Belarus, 
        including human rights defenders, bloggers, and journalists, 
        who are exercising their right to freedom of assembly, freedom 
        of expression, and rule of law; and
            (5) calls on Belarus to hold free, fair, and inclusive 
        presidential elections on August 9, 2020, that meet 
        international standards and include credible international 
        election monitoring.
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