November 14, 2024
A weekly review of news and analysis of elections in Eurasia, usually posted on Thursdays and occasionally updated throughout the week.
A road in Kyrgyzstan. Photo credit: Wikimedia/Thomas Depenbusch (Depi) (CC BY 2.0)
Upcoming Eurasia Elections
Kyrgyzstan Local Elections: November 17, 2024
Reuters (November 13, 2024): Kyrgyzstan makes arrests over suspected coup attempt ahead of local elections
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.
Csongor Körömi, Politico (November 14, 2024): Being president is a man’s job, roars Belarusian dictator
Yuras Karmanau, AP (November 12, 2024): Imprisoned Belarus activist resurfaces after no contact with her family for 20 months
TVP World (November 7, 2024): Lukashenko steps up repression ahead of Belarus election, says rights group
Past Eurasia Elections
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. She subsequently defeated Alexandr Stoianoglo, a former prosecutor-general who is backed by the pro-Russia faction, in the runoff on November 3.
IWPR (November 14, 2024): Lessons Learned from Moldova’s Elections
OC Media (November 13, 2024): Moldova summons Georgian representative over PM’s criticism of elections
Al Jazeera (November 12, 2024): Moldova formally protests alleged Russian election meddling
Madalin Necsutu, Balkan Insight (November 8, 2024): Moldova Hails Win over Russian Interference, But Bigger Battle Lies Ahead
Leonid Martynyuk, Voice of America (November 7, 2024): Facing interference accusations, Russia falsely declares Moldovan elections ‘undemocratic’
Georgia Parliamentary Elections: October 26, 2024
Emil Avdaliani, Carnegie Endowment (November 13, 2024): Relations Between Georgia and the West to Become Transactional
AP (November 12, 2024): Thousands rally in Georgia to demand new election and push for EU integration
Nicholas Chkhaidze, Atlantic Council (November 12, 2024): Russia emerges as the real winner of Georgia’s disputed election
Gabriel Gavin, Politico (November 11, 2024): Georgian government blasts European delegation amid call for election investigation
Joshua Kucera, RFE/RL (November 7, 2024): Georgia’s Opposition Criticized For Sluggish Reaction To Flawed Election
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.”
Fitch Solutions (November 11, 2024): Uzbekistan’s Economic Policies Steady, But Governance Risks Rising Post-Election
Elections On Deck
Eurasia
Leave a Comment
Posted: November 18, 2024 by 21votes
November 14, 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
Kyrgyzstan Local Elections: November 17, 2024
Reuters (November 13, 2024): Kyrgyzstan makes arrests over suspected coup attempt ahead of local elections
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.
Csongor Körömi, Politico (November 14, 2024): Being president is a man’s job, roars Belarusian dictator
Yuras Karmanau, AP (November 12, 2024): Imprisoned Belarus activist resurfaces after no contact with her family for 20 months
TVP World (November 7, 2024): Lukashenko steps up repression ahead of Belarus election, says rights group
Past Eurasia Elections
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. She subsequently defeated Alexandr Stoianoglo, a former prosecutor-general who is backed by the pro-Russia faction, in the runoff on November 3.
IWPR (November 14, 2024): Lessons Learned from Moldova’s Elections
OC Media (November 13, 2024): Moldova summons Georgian representative over PM’s criticism of elections
Al Jazeera (November 12, 2024): Moldova formally protests alleged Russian election meddling
Madalin Necsutu, Balkan Insight (November 8, 2024): Moldova Hails Win over Russian Interference, But Bigger Battle Lies Ahead
Leonid Martynyuk, Voice of America (November 7, 2024): Facing interference accusations, Russia falsely declares Moldovan elections ‘undemocratic’
Georgia Parliamentary Elections: October 26, 2024
Emil Avdaliani, Carnegie Endowment (November 13, 2024): Relations Between Georgia and the West to Become Transactional
AP (November 12, 2024): Thousands rally in Georgia to demand new election and push for EU integration
Nicholas Chkhaidze, Atlantic Council (November 12, 2024): Russia emerges as the real winner of Georgia’s disputed election
Gabriel Gavin, Politico (November 11, 2024): Georgian government blasts European delegation amid call for election investigation
Joshua Kucera, RFE/RL (November 7, 2024): Georgia’s Opposition Criticized For Sluggish Reaction To Flawed Election
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.”
Fitch Solutions (November 11, 2024): Uzbekistan’s Economic Policies Steady, But Governance Risks Rising Post-Election
Elections On Deck
Category: This Week Tags: Belarus, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Uzbekistan