October 24, 2024
A weekly review of news and analysis of elections in Eurasia, usually posted on Thursdays and occasionally updated throughout the week.
Jvari Monastery, a sixth-century monastery near Mtskheta, Georgia. Photo credit: Wikimedia/Levan Gokadze (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Upcoming Eurasia Elections
Georgia Parliamentary Elections: October 26, 2024
Joshua Kucera, RFE/RL (October 24, 2024): Everything You Need To Know About Georgia’s Key Vote
Davit Gasparyan, Nicole Wolkov, and Frederick W. Kagan, Institute for the Study of War (October 21, 2024): Russia or the west: the stakes in Georgia’s election
Carnegie Endowment (October 18, 2024): Georgian Elections Present Moscow With a Difficult Choice
Uzbekistan Parliamentary and Local Elections: October 27, 2024
Under Islam Karimov, who ruled Uzbekistan from independence until his death in 2016, Uzbekistan was a brutal dictatorship. His successor, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, has branded himself as a reformer. However, Freedom House notes: “While reforms adopted since President Shavkat Mirziyoyev took office in 2016 have led to improvements on some issues, Uzbekistan remains an authoritarian state with few signs of democratization. No opposition parties operate legally.”
Navbahor Imamova, Voice of America (October 24, 2024): Still without any opposition, Uzbekistan votes for parliament
Moldova Presidential Runoff: November 3, 2024
Moldova held a presidential election and referendum on joining the European Union on October 20. Voters narrowly chose to pursue EU membership. Maia Sandu, Moldova’s pro-west president, came in first in the presidential election but did not win a majority and therefore will face Alexandr Stoianoglo, a former prosecutor-general who is backed by the pro-Russia faction, in a runoff on November 3.
Reuters October 24, 2024): Moldovan president says bribery affected election, pledges run-off vote
Andy Heil, RFE/RL (October 21, 2024): Moldova’s Razor-Thin EU ‘Yes’ Vote Puts President Sandu In A Tight Spot
Tom Balmforth and Alexander Tanas, Reuters (October 21, 2024): Moldova’s Sandu secures knife-edge EU vote win after ‘unfair fight’
Christian Edwards, CNN (October 21, 2024): Moldova backs joining EU by razor-thin margin as president condemns ‘assault’ on democracy
OSCE (October 21, 2024): Moldova’s election and referendum well-managed and competitive, despite serious attempts to undermine its integrity, international observers say
The Economist (October 19, 2024): Maia Sandu, Moldova’s president, dares to stand up to Russia
Belarus Presidential Election: January 26, 2025
Aleksandr Lukashenko has been president of Belarus since the collapse of the Soviet Union. The country last held a presidential election on August 9, 2020. In a vote widely deemed not free and not fair, Lukashenko declared victory. However, the opposition declared that its candidate, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, had in fact won. Hundreds of thousands of Belarusians took to the streets in protest to demand free and fair elections, even in the face of assault and arrest by security forces.
In 2022, Lukashenko held a constitutional referendum on February 27, 2022 as a way of extending his time in power (he has been president since 1994 – the first and only president of post-Soviet Belarus). The changes allow Lukashenko to remain in office until 2035 and scrap Belarus’s non-nuclear status.
Yuras Karmanau, AP (October 23, 2024): Belarus sets a Jan. 26 election that’s almost certain to extend its authoritarian leader’s rule
Ketrin Jochecová, Politico (October 23, 2024): Belarus announces date for Lukashenko’s next election win
Regional Analysis
Adam Simpson, The Conversation (October 21, 2024): What’s at stake in elections in Georgia and Moldova this week: a stark choice between Russia and the West
Elections On Deck
Eurasia
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Posted: October 26, 2024 by 21votes
October 24, 2024
A weekly review of news and analysis of elections in Eurasia, usually posted on Thursdays and occasionally updated throughout the week.
Upcoming Eurasia Elections
Georgia Parliamentary Elections: October 26, 2024
Joshua Kucera, RFE/RL (October 24, 2024): Everything You Need To Know About Georgia’s Key Vote
Davit Gasparyan, Nicole Wolkov, and Frederick W. Kagan, Institute for the Study of War (October 21, 2024): Russia or the west: the stakes in Georgia’s election
Carnegie Endowment (October 18, 2024): Georgian Elections Present Moscow With a Difficult Choice
Uzbekistan Parliamentary and Local Elections: October 27, 2024
Under Islam Karimov, who ruled Uzbekistan from independence until his death in 2016, Uzbekistan was a brutal dictatorship. His successor, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, has branded himself as a reformer. However, Freedom House notes: “While reforms adopted since President Shavkat Mirziyoyev took office in 2016 have led to improvements on some issues, Uzbekistan remains an authoritarian state with few signs of democratization. No opposition parties operate legally.”
Navbahor Imamova, Voice of America (October 24, 2024): Still without any opposition, Uzbekistan votes for parliament
Moldova Presidential Runoff: November 3, 2024
Moldova held a presidential election and referendum on joining the European Union on October 20. Voters narrowly chose to pursue EU membership. Maia Sandu, Moldova’s pro-west president, came in first in the presidential election but did not win a majority and therefore will face Alexandr Stoianoglo, a former prosecutor-general who is backed by the pro-Russia faction, in a runoff on November 3.
Reuters October 24, 2024): Moldovan president says bribery affected election, pledges run-off vote
Andy Heil, RFE/RL (October 21, 2024): Moldova’s Razor-Thin EU ‘Yes’ Vote Puts President Sandu In A Tight Spot
Tom Balmforth and Alexander Tanas, Reuters (October 21, 2024): Moldova’s Sandu secures knife-edge EU vote win after ‘unfair fight’
Christian Edwards, CNN (October 21, 2024): Moldova backs joining EU by razor-thin margin as president condemns ‘assault’ on democracy
OSCE (October 21, 2024): Moldova’s election and referendum well-managed and competitive, despite serious attempts to undermine its integrity, international observers say
The Economist (October 19, 2024): Maia Sandu, Moldova’s president, dares to stand up to Russia
Belarus Presidential Election: January 26, 2025
Aleksandr Lukashenko has been president of Belarus since the collapse of the Soviet Union. The country last held a presidential election on August 9, 2020. In a vote widely deemed not free and not fair, Lukashenko declared victory. However, the opposition declared that its candidate, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, had in fact won. Hundreds of thousands of Belarusians took to the streets in protest to demand free and fair elections, even in the face of assault and arrest by security forces.
In 2022, Lukashenko held a constitutional referendum on February 27, 2022 as a way of extending his time in power (he has been president since 1994 – the first and only president of post-Soviet Belarus). The changes allow Lukashenko to remain in office until 2035 and scrap Belarus’s non-nuclear status.
Yuras Karmanau, AP (October 23, 2024): Belarus sets a Jan. 26 election that’s almost certain to extend its authoritarian leader’s rule
Ketrin Jochecová, Politico (October 23, 2024): Belarus announces date for Lukashenko’s next election win
Regional Analysis
Adam Simpson, The Conversation (October 21, 2024): What’s at stake in elections in Georgia and Moldova this week: a stark choice between Russia and the West
Elections On Deck
Category: This Week Tags: Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Uzbekistan