Łukašenka campaign raises more money than rivals combined – election commission
November 30, Pozirk. Alaksandar Łukašenka’s campaign raised 610,120 rubels (about $171,000 at the domestic exchange rate) as of November 27, nearly 2,000 percent more than the other campaigns, according to Belarus’ central election commission.
Hanna Kanapackaja’s campaign fund received 12,300 rubels. Siarhiej Syrankoŭ’s campaign fund, 11,955 rubels. Aleh Hajdukievič’s campaign fund, 3,035 rubels. Alaksandar Chižniak’s campaign fund, 2,150 rubels.
The Łukašenka campaign’s expenses totaled 91,333.74 rubels. The Kanapackja campaign spent 8,000 rubels. The Hajdukievič campaign spent 140.88 rubels. The Chižniak and Syrankoŭ teams did not spend anything.
Supporters will be collecting ballot-access signatures for their candidates until December 6.
According to the Belarusian Electoral Code, a candidate must submit at least 100,000 signatures in order to run for president. Earlier this month, the Łukašenka campaign said it collected at least 1.58 million signatures. Hajdukievič said he met the target.
Kanapackaja said her campaign collected 4,000 signatures per day, without disclosing the total. Chižniak and Syrankoŭ did not share their stats.
The government tightly controls preparations for the seventh presidential election, scheduled for January 2025. It has cleared the country’s political landscape of the opposition. Belarusian pro-democracy forces have already dismissed the race as a sham.
Belarus has not held a single free and fair election since 1996, according to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
During the 2020 presidential race, Śviatłana Cichanoŭskaja’s campaign raised 272,362 rubels, 5.3 percent more than Łukašenka’s campaign.
Opposition politician dismisses 1.5 million signatures for Łukašenka as a lie
November 22, Pozirk. Pavieł Łatuška of the opposition transition cabinet dismissed yesterday's announcement of 1.5 million ballot access signatures collected for Alaksandar Łukašenka as a lie, citing numerous reports of violations flagged to the opposition. “The entire state apparatus of …