Two main challengers to Belarus president barred from election ballot

The Belarusian election commission declined on Tuesday to register President Alexander Lukashenko's two most prominent opponents as candidates for a presidential election next month, all but ensuring victory for the leader in power for 26 years. Viktor Babariko, a banker who was detained last month, was excluded from the ballot because of a criminal case against him, the commission said.

The Belarusian election commission declined on Tuesday to register President Alexander Lukashenko's two most prominent opponents as candidates for a presidential election next month, all but ensuring victory for the leader in power for 26 years.

Viktor Babariko, a banker who was detained last month, was excluded from the ballot because of a criminal case against him, the commission said. Valery Tsepkalo, a former ambassador who runs an office park for tech companies, was also rejected after signatures on a supporting petition were nullified. The two men had been widely seen as the last candidates left with a chance of defeating Lukashenko, who faces his strongest opposition in years as frustration mounts over the economy, human rights and him downplaying the coronavirus pandemic.

Police have arrested hundreds of people in an effort to quell anti-government protests before the elections. Almost all of Lukashenko's main rivals are either arrested or under investigation. The EU delegation to Belarus said the move "undermines the overall integrity and democratic nature of the elections".

"By denying the registration of Viktor Babarika and Valery Tsapkalo, the Belarusian authorities have failed to ensure a meaningful and competitive political contest," it said. Babariko, who headed the local unit of Russia's Gazprombank before he decided to run for president, was detained last month on accusations he spirited hundreds of millions of dollars out of the country in money laundering schemes. He has rejected the charges as a way for the authorities to sideline a critic.

"The regime forces people to make a choice that they no longer want to make," Maria Kolesnikova, a spokeswoman for his campaign, told a news conference after the decision. Andrei Lankin, an official in Tsepalko's campaign, said Tsepalko would go to court to challenge the decision not to register him over the disallowed signatures.

Lukashenko's campaign chief, Mikhail Orda, said: "We need to quietly and calmly hold the elections, without any provocations and upheavals." Human rights activists have said more than 700 people have been detained during the election campaign. The authorities have not commented on the figures.

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