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Belarusportal |
Presidential elections were held in Belarus on 23 June 1994, with a second round on 10 July. [1] They were the first national elections held in Belarus since the country seceded from the Soviet Union three years earlier. The result was a victory for Alexander Lukashenko, who received 81% of the vote in the second round. Voter turnout was 79% in the first round and 71% in the second. [2]
In 1995, a year after taking office, Lukashenko won a referendum that gave him the power to dissolve the legislature. In 1996, he won another referendum that dramatically increased his power, and also extended his original five-year term to 2001. As a result, the 1994 presidential election is considered, to date, the only free election held in Belarus since it broke away from the Soviet Union. [3] [4]
Candidate | Party | First round | Second round | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Votes | % | Votes | % | |||
Alexander Lukashenko | Independent | 2,646,140 | 45.76 | 4,241,026 | 80.61 | |
Vyacheslav Kebich | Independent | 1,023,174 | 17.69 | 748,329 | 14.22 | |
Zianon Pazniak | Belarusian Popular Front | 757,195 | 13.09 | |||
Stanislav Shushkevich | Independent | 585,143 | 10.12 | |||
Alaksandar Dubko | Belarusian Agrarian Party | 353,119 | 6.11 | |||
Vasily Novikov | Party of Belarusian Communists | 253,009 | 4.38 | |||
Against all | 165,023 | 2.85 | 271,783 | 5.17 | ||
Total | 5,782,803 | 100.00 | 5,261,138 | 100.00 | ||
Valid votes | 5,782,803 | 97.94 | 5,261,138 | 99.67 | ||
Invalid/blank votes | 121,509 | 2.06 | 17,193 | 0.33 | ||
Total votes | 5,904,312 | 100.00 | 5,278,331 | 100.00 | ||
Registered voters/turnout | 7,476,586 | 78.97 | 7,476,205 | 70.60 | ||
Source: Nohlen & Stöver |
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