4 February, 2025
Roundtable discussion: The 2025 Presidential Elections in Belarus – Challenges, Opportunities, and Regional Implications
Followed by the Presidential elections in Belarus, SCEEUS organised a roundtable discussion on the 27th of January. President Lukashenka has ruled Belarus since 1994, and the regime's strategies leading up to the 2025 elections are characterized by repression, manipulation of political competition, and efforts to create the illusion of legitimacy.
The discussion highlighted the increased trans-border repression of the regime, in addition to the domestic control and repression of human rights. The discussions further included the development of the Belarus-Russian relations, as well as the role of the West in its continued support for the Belarusian civil society and the opposition in exile.
The panel included Victoria Leukavets, post-doctoral researcher at SCEEUS, who recently published the report The Farce of the 2025 Belarusian Elections: Power, Repression, and the Struggle for Legitimacy. The panel also included Christina Johannesson, Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jon Fridholm, Östgruppen and Dmitri Vasserman, spokesperson for the People’s Embassy of Belarus in Sweden. The discussion was moderated by Fredrik Löjdquist, Director of SCEEUS.
Photo: SCEEUS