Eurasia This Week: April 22, 2021

April 22, 2021

Your weekly roundup of news and analysis of elections in Eurasia, usually posted on Thursdays and occasionally updated throughout the week. For a full electoral calendar and interactive map, click here.


The Bronze Age archeological site of Carahunge or Zorats Karer in Armenia, sometimes called “
Armenia’s Stonehenge.” Photo credit: Wikimedia/Rita Willaert (CC BY 2.0)

Upcoming Eurasia Elections

Armenia Snap Parliamentary Elections: June 20, 2021

Armenia is holding snap parliamentary elections on June 20 in an effort to defuse a political crisis following a defeat in the recent Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Lillian Avedian, Armenian Weekly (April 21, 2021): National Assembly debating electoral reforms ahead of snap elections

Armen Grigoryan, openDemocracy (April 19, 2021): Armenia’s reformers struggle on

Russia Parliamentary Elections: By September 19, 2021

Russia is due to hold parliamentary elections by September 19, 2021. Russian elections are neither free nor fair. Nonetheless, the opposition has been making some gains in recent regional elections, helped by opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s “Smart Vote,” a campaign of tactical voting, in which they developed a list of candidates the best chance of beating Vladimir Putin’s United Russia. More

Robyn Dixon, Washington Post (April 24, 2021): Russia may label Navalny’s opposition networks as extremist groups. Even T-shirts could be outlawed.

Andrew E. Kramer, Washington Post (April 23, 2021): Navalny, Putin’s Nemesis, Ends Hunger Strike in Russia

AFP (April 22, 2021): Over 1,700 detained at pro-Navalny rallies across Russia

Moscow Times (April 22, 2021): In Photos: Navalny’s Supporters Take to the Streets

Danielle Pletka interviews Vladimir Kara-Murza, The Dispatch (April 19, 2021): ‘It’s Not Difficult to Win an Election When Your Opponents Are Not on the Ballot’

Dominic Cruz Bustillos and Alexander Vindman, Lawfare (April 19, 2021): It Is Time to Stop Looking for a Reset With Russia

Past Eurasia Elections

Kyrgyzstan Local Elections and Constitutional Referendum: April 11, 2021 and Parliamentary Elections Re-Run: Fall 2021 (proposed)

Kyrgyzstan held local elections on April 11, along with a constitutional referendum, following political turmoil in October 2020 and a snap presidential election in January 2021. The new constitution, which passed, grants the president vastly expanded powers. Its critics have dubbed it the “Khanstitution.” The political climate was tense heading into the October 2020 parliamentary elections. It subsequently exploded following said elections. More

The Economist (April 24, 2021): Back to the khanate? Kyrgyzstan votes for strongman rule

Ayzirek Imanaliyeva, Eurasianet (April 23, 2021): Kyrgyzstan: The season of arrests sweeping up ever more people

Erica Marat, Just Security (April 22, 2021): High-Level US Attention Needed for a Backsliding Democracy in Central Asia

Turkmenistan Parliamentary Elections: March 28, 2021

Turkmenistan held parliamentary elections on March 28, 2021. Turkmenistan is a highly repressive state that has never held free or fair elections, and lacks a genuine political oppositionMore

Christian Mamo, Emerging Europe (April 23, 2021): For Turkmen, rapping president Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov is no joke

Georgia Parliamentary Elections: October 31 and November 21, 2020

Georgia held parliamentary elections on October 31 and November 21, 2020 in a climate of political tension, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and related economic fallout. Tensions have exploded into a full-blown political crisis. More

Khatia Bzhalava, The Messenger Georgia (April 22, 2021): Opposition to enter parliament next Thursday to register amnesty bill

AP (April 19, 2021): Georgian opposition parties sign deal to end crisis

Georgi Lomsadze, Eurasianet (April 19, 2021): U.S., Europe start to play hardball with Georgia

Belarus Presidential Election: August 9, 2020

Belarus held a presidential election on August 9, 2020. In a vote widely deemed not free and not fair, incumbent Alexander Lukashenko declared victory. However, the opposition declared that Svetlana Tikhanovskaya had in fact won. Hundreds of thousands of Belarusians have taken to the streets in protest to demand free and fair elections, even in the face of assault and arrest by security forces. Protests continue. More

Reuters (April 24, 2021): Lukashenko to amend emergency transfer of presidential power – Belta

Council of Europe (April 21, 2021): Belarus is urged to carry out comprehensive reform of its electoral system

Brian Whitmore, Atlantic Council (April 21, 2021): Bizarre Belarus “coup plot” has all the hallmarks of a classic Kremlin drama

Rahim Rahimov, Jamestown Foundation (April 20, 2021): Lukashenka Visits Azerbaijan After Belarus Protests and Karabakh War

21votes does not necessarily agree with all of the opinions expressed in the linked articles; rather, our goal is to curate a wide range of voices. Furthermore, none of the individuals or organizations referenced have reviewed 21votes’ content. That is to say, their inclusion should not be taken to imply that they endorse us in any way. More on our approach here.

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