Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya

Sviatlana Heorhiyeuna Tsikhanouskaya[lower-alpha 1] (née Pilipchuk; Belarusian: Святла́на Гео́ргіеўна Ціхано́ўская (Піліпчук);[lower-alpha 2] born 11 September 1982), is a Belarusian human rights activist and politician who ran for the 2020 Belarusian presidential election as the main opposition candidate. She is the wife of activist Siarhei Tsikhanouski. Her husband was a candidate for the same election until his arrest on 29 May 2020, after which she announced her intention to run in his place.

This name uses Eastern Slavic naming customs; the patronymic is Hyeorhiyeuna and the family name is Tsikhanouskaya.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya
Святлана Ціханоўская
Светлана Тихановская
Tsikhanouskaya speaking in Minsk, July 2020
President-elect of Belarus
Assumed office
9 August 2020[1][2][3]
(Disputed with Alexander Lukashenko)
Preceded byAlexander Lukashenko
Personal details
Born
Sviatlana Heorhiyeuna Pilipchuk

(1982-09-11) 11 September 1982
Mikashevichy, Byelorussian SSR, Soviet Union (now Belarus)
NationalityBelarusian
Political partyIndependent (2020-present)
(Belarusian democracy movement)
Spouse(s)Siarhei Tsikhanouski (m. 2004)
Children2
Alma materMozyr State Pedagogical University
OccupationTeacher, interpreter, politician
Websitetsikhanouskaya2020.by

The incumbent Alexander Lukashenko was officially declared the victor in a contest marred by widespread electoral fraud.[15][16] Subsequently Tsikhanouskaya claimed to have won the presidential election with between 60 and 70% of the vote[17][18] and has appealed to the international community to recognise her as the winner.[19]

Biography

Before running for president, Tsikhanouskaya was an English teacher[20][21] and interpreter.[22] She spent many summers in Roscrea, Co. Tipperary, Ireland, as part of a Chernobyl children's programme.[23] She is married to arrested YouTuber, blogger, and activist Siarhei Tsikhanouski.[21] The couple have a son and a daughter.[20]

2020 presidential campaign

After her husband's arrest on 29 May, Tsikhanouskaya announced her intention to run in his place. She registered as an Independent candidate on 14 July 2020.[24] After registering, she was endorsed by the campaigns of Valery Tsepkalo and Viktar Babaryka, two prominent opposition politicians who were barred from registering, with one being arrested and the other fleeing the country. A photo of Tsikhanouskaya with Maria Kolesnikova, Babaryka's campaign chief, and Veronika Tsepkalo, Valery Tsepkalo's wife, has become a symbol of her campaign.[25]

The night before the election, police detained senior staffers from Tsikhanouskaya's campaign and she was forced to go into hiding in Minsk, before reemerging on election day at a polling station.[26]

Discrimination

Before the presidential campaign, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko insisted the country was not ready for a female president.[27] Her campaign comes as Amnesty International condemned Belarus's discriminatory treatment of women opposition activists, including threats of sexual violence[28] and threats by authorities to take children away from opposition figures and send them to state-run orphanages.[28][29] In response to the threats, Tsikhanouskaya sent her children abroad to live with their grandmother.[29][20][30] She has said she has repeatedly been threatened,[9] recounting a phone call saying, "We will put you behind bars and place your children in an orphanage."[20] Tsikhanouskaya said she nevertheless decided to persevere in her campaign: "There must be a symbol of freedom."[20]

Platform

Tsikhanouskaya has said that she is running for president out of love, to free her husband from prison.[31] She has vowed to free all political prisoners in Belarus, to introduce democratic reforms to the country, and to move away from the union treaty with Russia, which many Belarusian opposition figures view as an infringement on the country's sovereignty.[20] She has also pledged to set a referendum on returning to the pre-1994 constitution of Belarus, reinstating a limit of two terms for the president.[26][32] She has said that her main goal is to establish free and fair elections. She views the current election as illegitimate due to the government's refusal to register Lukashenko's main political opponents as candidates. She has pledged to deliver a plan for transparent and accountable elections within six months of taking office.[33]

Supporters

Though running as an independent, Tsikhanouskaya has attracted support from across the spectrum of Belarus's political opposition. Vital Rymašeŭski, co-leader of Belarusian Christian Democracy, announced his party's support, as did the Belarusian Social Democratic Party (Assembly), United Civic Party of Belarus and Belarusian Women's Party "Nadzieja".[34][35] She has also received support from 2010 presidential candidate Mikola Statkevich.[35]

Rallies in support of Tsikhanouskaya and in opposition to Lukashenko have been the largest in the history of post-Soviet Belarus, attracting crowds of 20,000 in Brest and 60,000 in Minsk.[20]

Exile

After the elections, she fled to Lithuania in fear of imprisonment.[36] On 11 August, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevičius announced that Tikhanovskaya was "safe" in Lithuania while also acknowledging that she had "few options".[37] According to her confidant Olga Kovalkova, Tikhanovskaya was taken out of the country against her will by Belarusian authorities. The President of Lithuania Gitanas Nausėda spoke with her upon arrival in Lithuania. On 11 August, the KGB of Belarus announced that an attempt was being made on Tikhanovskaya's life, saying that the protesters needed a "sacred sacrifice".[38]

Claim to presidency

On 14 August, Tsikhanouskaya released a video in which she claimed to have won the 2020 Belarusian presidential election with 60 to 70% of votes [39][40] and appealed to the international community to recognise her as the winner.[41] Tsikhanouskaya also announced the establishment of a transition council to handle the transfer of power from Lukashenko.[42] Applications for membership in the transitional council were open to any Belarusian citizen who recognised the election as having been falsified, and who was trusted by a social group by being an authoritative figure such as a doctor, a teacher, a business leader, an author or a sportsperson.[43] On 17 August, Tsikhanouskaya released a video where she stated that she was ready to head a transitional government [44][45] and organise a new, free and fair presidential election.[46]

References
  1. "Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya calls for end to violence in Belarus as election fallout continues". Sky News. 14 August 2020. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  2. "Belarus opposition candidate declares victory | NHK WORLD-JAPAN News". www3.nhk.or.jp.
  3. "Exiled leader calls weekend of protests in Belarus". 14 August 2020 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  4. "Belarus opposition rally attracts thousands despite crackdown". BBC News. 30 July 2020. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  5. Roth, Andrew (26 July 2020). Written at Moscow. "Women unite in maverick attempt to unseat Lukashenko in Belarus". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  6. "Support surges for wife of jailed Belarus YouTuber fighting Lukashenko's grip". The Financial Times. 31 July 2020. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  7. Dettmer, Jamie (22 June 2020). "'Slipper Revolution' Shakes Belarus". Voice of America. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  8. Bugoslavskaya, Alexandra (9 June 2020). "Belarus prepares for tense presidential elections". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  9. Karmanau, Yuras (19 July 2020). "Belarus rally for presidential challenger largest in years". Associated Press. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  10. Carroll, Oliver (28 July 2020). "'We don't want blood, we just want change': The extraordinary campaign to unseat Belarusian 'dictator' Alexander Lukashenko". The Independent. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  11. "The right way to get rid of President Alexander Lukashenko". The Economist. 30 July 2020. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  12. Davlashyan, Naira (8 June 2020). "Belarus presidential elections: Meet the three women teaming up to take on 'Europe's last dictator'". Euronews. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  13. Dixon, Robyn (23 July 2020). "Belarus's Lukashenko jailed election rivals and mocked women as unfit to lead. Now one is leading the opposition". The Washington Post. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  14. "9 August: Election day in Belarus". Belarusian Telegraph Agency. 9 August 2020.
  15. Jones, Mark P. (2018). Herron, Erik S; Pekkanen, Robert J; Shugart, Matthew S (eds.). "Presidential and Legislative Elections". The Oxford Handbook of Electoral Systems. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190258658.001.0001. ISBN 9780190258658. Retrieved 21 May 2020. unanimous agreement among serious scholars that... Lukashenko's 2015 election occurred within an authoritarian context.
  16. "Lukashenka vs. democracy: Where is Belarus heading?". AtlanticCouncil. 10 August 2020. Archived from the original on 12 August 2020. However, the vote was marred by allegations of widespread fraud. These suspicions appeared to be confirmed by data from a limited number of polling stations that broke ranks with the government and identified opposition candidate Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya as the clear winner.
  17. "Belarus election: Exiled leader calls weekend of 'peaceful rallies'". BBC News. 14 August 2020. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  18. "Belarus opposition candidate declares victory | NHK WORLD-JAPAN News". www3.nhk.or.jp.
  19. https://gordonua.com/news/worldnews/tihanovskaya-gotovitsya-obyavit-sebya-pobeditelnicey-vyborov-v-belarusi-press-sekretar-1513911.html
  20. Ex-teacher hopes to free Belarus from president's iron fist, Associated Press (4 August 2020).
  21. Bennetts, Marc (6 June 2020). Written at Moscow. "Svetlana Tikhanovskaya: Housewife steps into election fight with Belarus strongman Lukashenko". The Times. London. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  22. Tsikhanouskaya: Belarus Authorities Are Scared Because So Many People Oppose Them, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (4 August 2020).
  23. "News At One: Belarus leader of the opposition Svetlana Tikhanovskaya's ties to Roscrea, County Tipperary". www.rte.ie.
  24. "In Belarus, 3 Women Unite to Fight Strongman Lukashenko". Moscow Times. 20 July 2020.
  25. Bennetts, Marc (20 July 2020). Written at Moscow. "Wife of jailed blogger steps up to fight Lukashenko of Belarus". The Times. London. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  26. Roth, Andrew; Auseyushkin, Yan (9 August 2020). Written at Moscow and Minsk. "Opposition candidate comes out of hiding as Belarus votes". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  27. "'Female solidarity': In Belarus, three women unite to fight strongman Lukashenko" RTL. 17 July 2020.
  28. "Belarus: Authorities threatening women political activists ahead of election", Amnesty International. 17 July 2020.
  29. Max Seddon, Support surges for wife of jailed Belarus YouTuber fighting Lukashenko's grip, Financial Times (31 July 2020).
  30. "Belarus presidential candidate sends her children abroad after threats". Reuters. 20 July 2020.
  31. "Newsday: The female politicians of Belarus taking on a male president who has been in power for more than two decades". BBC World Service. 22 July 2020.
  32. Дашчынскі, Алесь. ""Можа прынесьці прысягу на вернасьць Канстытуцыі 1994 году". Ціханоўская абяцае новыя выбары. Ці законна гэта?". Радыё Свабода (in Belarusian).
  33. "«У Лукашэнкі вельмі нізкі рэйтынг». Што Ціханоўская сказала ў сваім першым выступе на тэлевізіі." Radio Svaboda. 21 July 2020.
  34. "БСДП (Грамада) заклікала галасаваць за Ціханоўскую і адстойваць права на свабодныя выбары." Radio Svaboda. 23 July 2020.
  35. "Статкевіч, Кавалькова, Хашчавацкі, АГП і БХД. Хто падтрымлівае Сьвятлану Ціханоўскую." Radio Svaboda. 22 July 2020.
  36. Kennedy, Rachael (11 August 2020). "Belarus election: Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya made 'independent' decision to flee to Lithuania". Euronews. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  37. "Belarus opposition leader 'had few options' - Lithuanian FM". news.yahoo.com.
  38. Тихановская в видеообращении объяснила отъезд из Белоруссии
  39. "Belarus election: Exiled leader calls weekend of 'peaceful rallies'". BBC News. 14 August 2020. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  40. "Belarus opposition candidate declares victory | NHK WORLD-JAPAN News". www3.nhk.or.jp.
  41. https://gordonua.com/news/worldnews/tihanovskaya-gotovitsya-obyavit-sebya-pobeditelnicey-vyborov-v-belarusi-press-sekretar-1513911.html
  42. "Belarus opposition candidate declares victory | NHK WORLD-JAPAN News". www3.nhk.or.jp.
  43. https://oko.press/lukaszence-zostal-juz-tylko-putin-cichanouska-wzywa-do-lokalnego-przejmowania-wladzy/
  44. https://t.me/nexta_live_en/7398
  45. Euronews with DPA (17 August 2020). "Tsikhanouskaya says she can be 'national leader' as strikes sweep Belarus". Euronews. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  46. Teslova, Elena (17 August 2020). "Belarus: Opposition leader says 'ready to lead country'". Anadolu Agency. Retrieved 17 August 2020.

Notes
  1. some sources use Svetlana Georgiyevna Tikhanovskaya, the Russian transliteration; Russian: Светла́на Гео́ргиевна Тихано́вская (Пилипчу́к)[4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]
  2. also Śviatłana Hieorhijeŭna Cichanoŭskaja in the Belarusian Latin alphabet
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