Belarus opposition candidate rejects election result after night of protests

[Hypatia_Alexandria]

The obscenity of authoritarian governments that rig elections and dare to call them democratic!




https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...aya-lukashenko

[Starlight]

Foreign observers have not declared a Belarusian election free and fair since 1995.

In that case, is it really news that the election was rigged?

It does seem like the number of disputed elections around the world is increasing, and ways of influencing election outcomes are getting more sophisticated.

In the last couple of decades we've seen things like Bush v Gore and Russiagate in the US, fake corruption charges a few years ago in Brazil used to prevent a popular president running for another term, last year a biased US organisation falsely labeling a free and fair election in Bolivia as "rigged" as an excuse for a coup there etc.

Looking at international measures of democracy quality, and also corruption levels, while it does seem like these things have gotten reasonably steadily better around the globe across the course of the last 100 years, they seem to have stagnated or gone backward over the last 20 years. It seems like increasingly in the modern world, Russia is exporting anti-democratic activity, and the US is exporting corruption.

[Roy]

Hardly surprising there were protests over a difference of that much. If they'd reported, say, 55-40 instead of 80-10 they might have got away with it.

[Hypatia_Alexandria]

In that case, is it really news that the election was rigged?

It does seem like the number of disputed elections around the world is increasing, and ways of influencing election outcomes are getting more sophisticated.

In the last couple of decades we've seen things like Bush v Gore and Russiagate in the US, fake corruption charges a few years ago in Brazil used to prevent a popular president running for another term, last year a biased US organisation falsely labeling a free and fair election in Bolivia as "rigged" as an excuse for a coup there etc.

Looking at international measures of democracy quality, and also corruption levels, while it does seem like these things have gotten reasonably steadily better around the globe across the course of the last 100 years, they seem to have stagnated or gone backward over the last 20 years. It seems like increasingly in the modern world, Russia is exporting anti-democratic activity, and the US is exporting corruption.

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/worl...edom-1.4312856

[Starlight]

It does seem strange to me that the EU appears so tolerant of Hungary's rapid slide into dictatorship.

I don't follow internal EU politics so it makes me wonder what the process is that's causing this apparent lack of reaction.

[Hypatia_Alexandria]

It does seem strange to me that the EU appears so tolerant of Hungary's rapid slide into dictatorship.

I don't follow internal EU politics so it makes me wonder what the process is that's causing this apparent lack of reaction.

The EU walks a careful line. It wants to keep Europe united and so has to use other means to control the slide back into dictatorships in some countries. Hungary has been a mess for over a century. There is anger witin sections of the public among some of the founder member states that the newer members are rather inclined to take EU financial assistance and do little to counter domestic problems. However, even founder states have their problems Germany has never really addressed the former GDR and much of the support for the AfD is found on that side of the country, along with Neo-Nazism. Likewise in France the Rassemblement national [aka National Rally formerly National Front] has been quiet since late June but its politics have not disappeared.

While the UK - judged from a distance looks like a complete basket case - and is being run by a better educated version of Trump.

[Ronson]

... this gradual chipping away at democracy should be of concern to anyone who values the rights and freedoms it provides.

It's happening everywhere. I usually don't see liberal (types) complain about it unless it runs afoul of their specific ideals.

[Ronson]

In the last couple of decades we've seen things like Bush v Gore and Russiagate in the US...

You're amusing.