2010 Belarusian presidential election

The Belarusian presidential elections were held on 19 December 2010 and were condemned by international observers. Incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko secured his fourth term, defeating nine opposition candidates.

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, especially noting the violent suppression of mass protests after his prior re-election in 2006. Relations between Belarus and Russia had deteriorated following the 2007 winter gas dispute, the 2008 Russo-Georgian War, and subsequent conflicts over the recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. This provided Alexander Lukashenko with an opportunity to normalize relations with the West. The further rapprochement depended on the election being recognized as free and fair by Western observers, which led Lukashenko to partially liberalize the electoral process.

Of the ten candidates, incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko was declared the winner by the Central Election Commission with over 80% of the vote. After an opposition protest against electoral fraud was violently suppressed by riot police the night after the elections, hundreds of protesters and seven presidential candidates were arrested by the Belarusian KGB, including runner-up Andrei Sannikov.

Western countries decried the election as a farce and an egregious affront to democracy and human rights. The United States and the European Union called for the release of all imprisoned candidates. By contrast, countries such as Syria, China, Vietnam, and Russia congratulated the re-elected incumbent.