The Central Election Commission of the Republic of Belarus (CEC) is the body responsible for conducting national
elections
An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office.
Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operated ...
and overseeing local elections in
Belarus
Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...
Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List
The Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List, also known as the SDN List, is a United States government sanctions/embargo measure targeting U.S.-designated terrorists, officials and beneficiaries of certain authoritarian regimes, a ...
of the United States, while CEC member and Minister of Justice Oleg Slizhevsky was designated in 2007.
In 2011, Yermoshina was again sanctioned by the EU, following the 2010 presidential election. These European sanctions were lifted in 2016.
On 2 October 2020 the European Union imposed sanctions on all 12 members of the commission for violations in the August election. In the autumn of 2020, the UK, Canada and Switzerland also imposed sanctions against all CEC members. The United States imposed sanctions against CEC Deputy Chairman Vadzim Ipatau and CEC Secretary Alena Dmukhayla on 2 October 2020, and on 21 June 2021 extended them to cover the rest of the Commission members. In addition, on 23 December 2020 the Central Election Commission itself was added to the SDN list.
In March 2022, the new head of the CEC, Igor Karpenko, was added to the Canadian sanctions list. In June 2022 Karpenko was also blacklisted by the European Union; Switzerland joined these sanctions shortly thereafter.
In March 2023, Karpenko and other members of the Belarusian CEC who had joined the commission after 2020 were added to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List.
On January 27, 2025, the UK's Foreign Office imposed sanctions on Belarusian officials, including Karpenko, in response to the 2025 Belarusian presidential election that took place on Sunday, the day before.
Belarus
Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...