February 20, 2025
A weekly review of news and analysis of elections in Eurasia, usually posted on Thursdays and occasionally updated throughout the week.
The Besleti Bridge, built in the 12th century, near Sukhumi, capital of the Abkhazia breakaway region of Georgia. Photo credit: Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 2.5)
Upcoming Eurasia Elections
Abkhazia (breakaway territory of Georgia) Snap Presidential Election Runoff: March 1, 2025
Abkhazia is a region of Georgia that has been de facto independent since 1993 and is dependent on Russia for financial and military support (Russia is also one of the only countries that recognizes Abkhazia as an independent country). Separatist militants and their allies committed ethnic cleansing and massacres against Georgians living in Abkhazia. Since Russia’s 2008 invasion of Georgia, Russia has occupied roughly a fifth of Georgia’s territory.
RFE/RL (February 16, 2025): Kremlin-Favored Candidate Faces Runoff in Georgia’s Abkhazia
Ukraine Presidential and Legislative Elections: Postponed indefinitely due to war (originally due in 2024)
Archie Bland, The Guardian (February 20, 2025): Why hasn’t Ukraine held elections since the war began?
Daniel Orton, Newsweek (February 19, 2025): Zelensky Responds to Trump Calling for Elections in Ukraine
Morgan Phillips, Fox News (February 18, 2025): Zelenskyy faces perilous re-election odds as US, Russia push Ukraine to go to the polls as part of peace deal
RFE/RL (February 17, 2025): Ukraine Preparing For Elections, Claims Zelenskyy’s Predecessor Poroshenko
Past Eurasia Elections
Azerbaijan Local Elections: January 29, 2025
Observatorio Balcani e Caucaso (February 18, 2025): In Azerbaijan, yet another election marred by violations
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.
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.
Pablo Rad, Wilson Center (February 14, 2025): The 2025 Presidential Elections in Belarus: Just One of Many Problems for the Country
Georgia Parliamentary Elections: October 26, 2024
Alexander Atasuntsev, Carnegie Endowment (February 19, 2025): How Georgia’s Ruling Party Gambled on Trump—and Lost
Mercedes Sapuppo, Atlantic Council (February 18, 2025): Georgia’s pro-Kremlin authorities intensify crackdown on opposition
Eurasia This Week: February 20, 2025
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Last Updated: February 28, 2025 by 21votes
February 20, 2025
A weekly review of news and analysis of elections in Eurasia, usually posted on Thursdays and occasionally updated throughout the week.
Upcoming Eurasia Elections
Abkhazia (breakaway territory of Georgia) Snap Presidential Election Runoff: March 1, 2025
Abkhazia is a region of Georgia that has been de facto independent since 1993 and is dependent on Russia for financial and military support (Russia is also one of the only countries that recognizes Abkhazia as an independent country). Separatist militants and their allies committed ethnic cleansing and massacres against Georgians living in Abkhazia. Since Russia’s 2008 invasion of Georgia, Russia has occupied roughly a fifth of Georgia’s territory.
RFE/RL (February 16, 2025): Kremlin-Favored Candidate Faces Runoff in Georgia’s Abkhazia
Ukraine Presidential and Legislative Elections: Postponed indefinitely due to war (originally due in 2024)
Archie Bland, The Guardian (February 20, 2025): Why hasn’t Ukraine held elections since the war began?
Daniel Orton, Newsweek (February 19, 2025): Zelensky Responds to Trump Calling for Elections in Ukraine
Morgan Phillips, Fox News (February 18, 2025): Zelenskyy faces perilous re-election odds as US, Russia push Ukraine to go to the polls as part of peace deal
RFE/RL (February 17, 2025): Ukraine Preparing For Elections, Claims Zelenskyy’s Predecessor Poroshenko
Past Eurasia Elections
Azerbaijan Local Elections: January 29, 2025
Observatorio Balcani e Caucaso (February 18, 2025): In Azerbaijan, yet another election marred by violations
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.
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.
Pablo Rad, Wilson Center (February 14, 2025): The 2025 Presidential Elections in Belarus: Just One of Many Problems for the Country
Georgia Parliamentary Elections: October 26, 2024
Alexander Atasuntsev, Carnegie Endowment (February 19, 2025): How Georgia’s Ruling Party Gambled on Trump—and Lost
Mercedes Sapuppo, Atlantic Council (February 18, 2025): Georgia’s pro-Kremlin authorities intensify crackdown on opposition
Category: This Week Tags: Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Ukraine