2025 Belarusian presidential election
[6] Mass protests alleging widespread vote-rigging erupted after incumbent president Alexander Lukashenko was declared the winner of the 2020 presidential election.[16] In November, Estonian foreign minister Margus Tsahkna stated that the election would not be recognised by Estonia, saying it would not meet democratic standards.[24] Outgoing US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the election cannot be free or fair in an "environment where censorship is ubiquitous and independent media outlets no longer exist".[16] Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe rapporteur Ryszard Petru said on 24 January that the election was lacking in debate, free choice and transparency, which meant that it "cannot and will not meet internationally recognised standards of fairness and legitimacy".[33] Following the early December deadline to get 100,000 signatures, the CEC said five candidates were approved to stand:[34][35][36] Syrankov supported the rebuilding of monuments to Joseph Stalin and the criminalisation of LGBT activities in Belarus.In an interview with the BBC, Syrankov said "there is no alternative to Alexander Lukashenko as the leader of our country", adding that "we are taking part in the election with the president's team".Opposition groups said that ballot boxes used in early voting were left unguarded until election day, allowing irregularities to take place.[46] He was also congratulated by several pro-Russian Moldovan politicians: former president and Party of Socialists leader Igor Dodon, fugitive oligarch Ilan Shor and Gagauz governor Evghenia Guțul.