TALLINN, Estonia — Belarus’ election commission granted leave to seven politicians on Monday President Alexander Lukashenko He will begin gathering signatures to run against the longtime authoritarian ruler in January’s election in an effort to create some semblance of competition against him.

Lukashenko, who has ruled the country for more than 30 years, is running for a seventh term following a relentless crackdown on opposition and free media.

vote, It is planned to be held on January 26It would come 4.5 years after the 2020 presidential vote was rejected by the opposition and the West as riddled with fraud, triggering mass protests across the country. Belarusian authorities gave a wide-ranging response to the demonstrations pressure on the opposition, resulted in the arrest of approximately 65,000 people.

During the crackdown, prominent opposition figures were either imprisoned or fled the country. Human rights activists say there are currently about 1,300 political prisoners in Belarus, many of whom are denied adequate medical care and contact with their families.

Lukashenko trusted subsidies and political support To survive the protests, it broke away from its main ally, Russia. In February 2022, he allowed Moscow to use Belarusian territory to send troops to Ukraine.

Last week, the Belarusian Central Election Commission registered an initiative group for Lukashenko to prepare for the race. On Monday, seven politicians, including the Communist Party’s Sergei Syrankov, Liberal Democratic Party leader Oleg Gaidukevich and former Interior Ministry spokeswoman Olga Chemodanova, were also allowed to start collecting signatures to become candidates.

“These are alternative candidates, and I believe they just want to protect the incumbent,” Lukashenko said of the candidates challenging the token.

Each candidate must collect at least 100,000 signatures by December 6 to enter the race.

Last week the commission refused to register the initiative groups of two opposition politicians who wanted to enter the race.

“There are candidates, but there is no competition in this election,” said independent political analyst Valery Karbalevich. “Lukashenko fears a repeat of the 2020 protests, his trauma is still fresh, and therefore he will hold the vote in a format where the outcome is predetermined.”

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who is in exile after challenging Lukashenko in the 2020 presidential election, denounced January’s vote as a farce and called on Belarusians to vote against all candidates.

“We offer people to voice their protest by voting against anyone who steals our right to vote,” said Tsikhanouskaya, whose husband, Siarhei Tsikhanouski, is serving a 19 1/2-year prison sentence after trying to run against Lukashenko. “This is not an election, but an imitation of an election process held in an atmosphere of terrorism, where alternative candidates and observers are not allowed.”

throughout February parliamentary and local electionsIn the contest, where only candidates loyal to Lukashenko were allowed to compete, Belarus also participated for the first time. refused to invite observers From the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe to monitor the vote.