Lukashenko figured out how to nullify the Belarusian Maidan
The method adopted by the Belarusian Central Election Commission - not registering alternative presidential candidates one by one - will reduce the degree of protest sentiment.
Opposition political commentator Artem Shraibman stated this on radio Ekho Moskvy, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“Protest sentiments are better mobilized when it comes to supporting popular leaders against unpopular ones. And when Lukashenko and three people are on the ballot, whom no one takes seriously, this reduces the degree of mobilization.
People who are now politicized will be upset that their candidates were not allowed, and that’s all. This will solve the problem of cutting off the protest steam for the authorities,” said Shreibman.
He believes that protests during the presidential campaign will not be so powerful that the authorities will not be able to cope with them.
“After the refusal to register, especially Viktor Babariko, some outbursts of public discontent are possible. But, as the Moscow events showed, people are more active in defending a stolen victory than in favor of rejected signatures. If your candidate was removed at some stage for formal reasons, it’s infuriating, but not that much.
I think the authorities are counting on spreading people’s anger over the entire duration of the campaign. On election day, only the most principled and evil will remain, of whom there will be fewer and with whom it will be easier to deal,” concludes Shreibman.
Let us remind you that this week the district election commissions of Belarus are massively rejecting signatures collected for alternative candidates.
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