Coordination Council (Belarus)

For other uses, see Coordination Council.

Coordination Council

Belarusian: Каардынацыйная рада

‹See Tfd›Russian: Координационный совет

Logo
Type
Type
History
Established14 August 2020
Preceded byNational Assembly of Belarus (claimed)
Leadership
Key People
3rd Composition (2024)
  • Speaker: Anzhalika Melnikava
  • Deputy Speaker: Stanislava Hlinik
  • Head of Secretariat: Ivan Kravtsov
Seats80
Website
rada.vision

The Coordination Council, originally known as the Coordination Council for ensuring the transfer of power (Belarusian: Каардынацыйная рада, romanized: Kaardynacyjnaja rada; ‹See Tfd›Russian: Координационный совет, romanized: Koordinatsionnyy sovyet) is a non-governmental body created by presidential candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya to facilitate a democratic transfer of power in Belarus. The council, founded during the 2020 Belarusian protests in response to the disputed 2020 Belarusian presidential election, originally had 64 core members (as of 13 February 2021[1]) with a 7-member leadership presidium.

The first meeting of the Council took place on 18 August 2020.[2][3] From late August to mid-October several of the presidium members were arrested or chose to exile themselves from Belarus, fearing repression by Belarusian security forces.[4]

In 2022-2023, the Coordination Council was transformed into a more representative body for the Belarusian people, consisting of members from various democratic groups in exile. This marked a significant step in formalizing the opposition's leadership structure.[citation needed]

In May 2024, the Coordination Council held its first direct digital elections, where over 6,700 Belarusian citizens participated. It operates in exile due to the political situation in Belarus.[5]

The European Parliament recognized the Coordination Council as a temporary representative body for the Belarusian people in its 2020 resolution 2020/2779(RSP), stating: "The European Parliament welcomes the Coordination Council as a temporary representative of the people demanding democratic change in Belarus and which is open to all political and social actors."[6]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference CCouncil_core_13Feb2021 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "В организованном Тихановской координационном совете по передаче власти назвали дату первой встречи". канал Дождь. 17 August 2020.
  3. ^ "Ex-Belarusian presidential candidate Tikhanovskaya's HQ starts forming coordination council to ensure transition of power". Interfax-Ukraine. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference AP_ultimatum_declared was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "Coordination Council Election Results". Belsat. 28 May 2024.
  6. ^ "European Parliament Resolution 2020/2779(RSP)". 17 September 2020.