ABSTRACT
On 19 March 2006, Belarus held a controversial presidential election. The incumbent, Alyaksandr Lukashenka, had had the country’s constitution amended in a referendum in 2004, allowing him to run for the presidency indefinitely, in contravention to the constitution, which had set a two-term limit on any individual holding the presidency. That had evoked criticism in the country where the president’s authoritarian style has led many to refer to Belarus as Europe’s last dictatorship. In the wake of the colour revolutions in Serbia, Georgia, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan, the authorities in Belarus were alert to the potential for such a revolution unfolding in Belarus during the 2006 elections. Many of the ingredients that had contributed to the success of the other colour revolutions were present in Belarus. There was a vocal opposition to the president; there were a number of youth movements that were disgruntled with the system and highly active in organizing rallies against the authorities; there was contact between the opposition and parties critical of Lukashenka’s regime in neighboring countries; there was support from the international community that demanded free and fair elections; and there was electoral fraud to ignite such a revolution. When President Lukashenka won the presidency outright in the first round of voting with 82.6 per cent of the vote, the opposition cried foul and a tent city was set up by the anti-Lukashenka youth movements in October Square in the center of Minsk. Protests continued until 25 March when riot police weighed in and broke up the demonstration, arresting its leaders, as well as opposition candidate Alyaksandr Kazulin.
