2006 Belarusian presidential election

The Belarusian presidential election was held on 19 March 2006. Incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko secured his third term, defeating three other candidates: unified democratic opposition candidate Alaksandar Milinkievič, Sergei Gaidukevich, and Alyaksandr Kazulin.

President Lukashenko had been in office since 1994, consolidating his power and abolishing presidential term limits in a 2004 referendum. The United States and the European Union criticized him for a poor human rights record and authoritarian rule. While Russia and Belarus had formally established the Union State in 1999, the relationship had experienced tensions due to difficulties in implementing full integration. However, the Orange Revolution in Ukraine and the Rose Revolution in Georgia prior to the election prompted Russia to strongly back Lukashenko's re-election.

The Central Election Commission of Belarus announced the results on 23 March, claiming Lukashenko won with 84.4% of the vote. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe concluded that the election "failed to meet OSCE commitments for democratic elections," citing, among other concerns, issues with early voting and the almost total exclusion of observers from the process of results tabulation. Conversely, The Commonwealth of Independent States' observers declared the election "open and transparent."

The day after the election, Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Lukashenko on his win, while the EU and the USA did not recognize the results and called for a re-election. Accusing the government of election fraud, the opposition called the public to mass protests on 19 March. These demonstrations, known in Belarus as the 'Jeans Revolution,' were ultimately dispersed by the authorities. Subsequently, the European Union and the United States sanctioned high-ranking members of the Belarusian government, including President Alexander Lukashenko.