Civil society and human rights in Belarus on the eve of presidential elections

The next presidential election in Belarus will take place on 11 October 2015. The incumbent Alexander Lukashenko who has been in power since 1994 is running for his fifth consecutive term in office.

In the frames of the side-event, Belarusian civil society representatives will focus on the situation with human rights and legal conditions for civil society organizations in Belarus on the eve of presidential elections which are to take place on October 11, 2015.

The event will be held by the representatives of major groups carrying out the domestic observation of the presidential elections: the “Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections” campaign, including the Human Rights Center “Viasna” and the Belarusian Helsinki Committee, and the “Right to Choose” campaign uniting 8 political parties and trade unions.

During the event, an analysis of the legal environment before the elections, including obstacles obstructing free and fair elections, will be presented. The process of election commissions formation and initiative groups registration, presidential nomination procedures, conditions for campaigning (including the conditions for publications in the media, conditions for holding meetings and pickets and the possibility of disseminating candidates’ programs) will be assessed. National observation campaigns will present their conclusions and evaluation of the process if the presidential elections on October 11 are free and fair.

Representatives of the Assembly of Pro-Democratic NGOs of Belarus and Legal Transformation Centre will dwell on the conditions for the work of NGOs in Belarus. Particular attention will be given to the facts of pressure on NGOs related to the presidential elections, as well as to the reform in the field of receiving foreign financial support in Belarus.

Date: Monday, 28 September 2015

Time: 13:15-14:45

Venue: Warsaw, Sofitel-Victoria Hotel (Krolewska str.11)

Meeting Room 3

Working languages: English, Russian