Belarus election contenders all back Lukashenko policies
The Central Election Commission has already registered four potential candidates for the presidency of Belarus: Alexander Lukashenko, Oleg Gaidukevich, Alexander Khizhnyak, and Olga Chemodanova. Four additional applications are under consideration. According to the independent portal Zerkalo, all candidates support the dictator's policies.
The three candidates who are already registered consistently declare their full support for Lukashenko and the key directions of his policies, which raises questions about why these individuals have submitted their candidacies.
The first among them is Oleg Gaidukevich. As the head of the Liberal Democratic Party of Belarus, he has repeatedly praised the foreign policy actions of his future competitor. Gaidukevich extolled Lukashenko's peaceful initiatives following the Russian invasion of Ukraine: "Alexander Lukashenko conveys to the West: we will not succumb to your provocations. [...] Alexander Lukashenko fights for peace in Europe," he listed.
"Alexander Lukashenko, who burst into the dull Belarusian politics like a meteor, impressed me from the beginning. He immediately started saying things that others were afraid of," Gaidukevich remarked in the '90s.
In May 2024, Gaidukevich claimed that "Lukashenko lives with Belarusians what they live with." He elaborated: "Every Belarusian family wants peace, a salary, the construction of an apartment, for healthcare to work, for education—to be able to send their children to a sports-health center, for a House of Culture to be established, to be able to relax and live normally. I want the country to prosper," he stated.
Another candidate, Alexander Khizhnyak, just a week ago announced that his party would support Alexander Lukashenko in the elections.
In November 2023, Khizhnyak supported Lukashenko's purge of opposition parties and organizations. In February 2024, he called Lukashenko a "strong leader" and stated that the Belarusian people who supported the politician found it to be the "right choice."
Similarly, Olga Chemodanova in her public speeches practically idealizes Lukashenko. She justified the murderers of Roman Bondarenko, calling them "caring citizens trying to restore order."
In May 2024, Chemodanova, in an interview, credited Lukashenko with Belarus's developing economy and children going to school "in a calm and safe country."
Considering more applications
In addition to the three "competitors" described above, there are three more applicants whose registrations are being considered. However, judging by the statements of these individuals, they do not appear to oppose Lukashenko.
The first among them is the former head of the Belarusian Military Academy, retired Major General Sergey Bobrikov, who for a second term leads the pro-government Belarusian Officers' Union. Under his leadership, this organization supports the current government.
The next applicant to the CEC is Anna Kanopatskaya. After the 2016 elections, she became one of two opposition deputies in the House of Representatives. Before the 2020 elections, she criticized Lukashenko, calling him a dictator and blaming his regime for Belarus's demographic issues, backward industry, and ineffective agriculture. She spoke of a large foreign debt, high administrative costs, and a repressive apparatus. In 2020, she described herself as the only pro-European opposition politician and a rival to the "current president."
Despite these actions, after the elections, she echoed state propaganda narratives. Furthermore, even as a deputy, she developed and submitted to parliament a bill on guarantees for Lukashenko and his family after he steps down.
After the elections and the suppression of the main wave of protests against fraud and violence by security forces in February 2021, Kanopatskaya referred to the Lukashenko supporters gathered as "winners," stating that "there were more of them" and "they turned out to be stronger, more united, more organized."
Another individual seeking to register her candidacy is businesswoman Diana Kovaleva. The 2025 elections will mark the beginning of her political career. It is highly probable that her views will not significantly deviate from those of the other candidates.
The last person who submitted his documents to the CEC was the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the pro-government Communist Party of Belarus, Sergey Syrankov. He recently stated that the country under Lukashenko's leadership "has achieved recognition, respect, and authority on the international stage."
