Belarusian Social Democratic Party (People's Assembly)

The Belarusian Social Democratic Party (People's Assembly) (Belarusian: Беларуская сацыял-дэмакратычная партыя (Народная Грамада), romanizedBielaruskaja Sacyjal-Demakratyčnaja Partyja (Narodnaja Hramada); Russian: Белорусская социал-демократическая партия (Народная Грамада), romanizedBelorusskaya sotsial-demokraticheskaya partiya (Narodnaya Gramada)) is an unregistered social-democratic[3] political party in Belarus that opposes the administration of President Alexander Lukashenko.

Belarusian Social Democratic Party (People's Assembly)
Народная Грамада
Народная Громада
AbbreviationNarodnaya Hramada (NH) (English)
НАРОДНАЯ ГРАМАДА (НГ) (Belarusian)
НАРОДНАЯ ГРАМАДА (НГ) (Russian)
LeaderMikola Statkevich
Founded29 June 1996 (1996-06-29)
Banned19 February 2005 (2005-02-19) (officially deregistered)[1]
Merger ofBSDH
PNZ
Merged intoBSDP (Hramada) (factions)
Membership (2002)4,076
IdeologySocial democracy
Sustainable development
Non-interventionism
Political positionCentre-left[2]
International affiliationSocialist International
Colours    red and white
Website
hramada.org

The party is a full member of the Socialist International.[4]

History edit

The BSDP (People's Assembly) was established in March 1991. It calls itself the successor of the Belarusian Socialist Hramada, which was founded in 1903.[5]

The party was left unregistered in 2004, when the government claimed that the reelection of party leader Mikalay Statkevich had been conducted illegally. Some party members then formed the Belarusian Social Democratic Party (Assembly), which was registered.

In legislative elections held between October 13–17, 2004, the party did not secure any seats.

On May 31, 2020, the party's leader Mikola Statkevich was arrested on his way to a rally where signatures for Svetlana Tikhanovskaya were being gathered. He was sentenced to 15 days for participating in an unsanctioned protest.[6] This sentence was extended two more times, and he was tried again on June 29 for organizing unrest.[7] Viasna Human Rights Centre called the accusations politically motivated and demanded the immediate release of Statkevich.[8]

On December 14, 2021, Statkevich was sentenced to 14 years in prison. Along with him, Ihar Losik, Sergei Tikhanovsky and three other political prisoners were also sentenced. Throughout the 565 days he has spent in detention, Statkevich was not allowed to get access to legal representation or defence and he has been denied all contact with his family.[9]

Electoral results edit

Legislative elections edit

Election Leader Performance Rank Government
Votes % +/– Seats +/–
1995 Mikola Statkevich Created after elections
17 / 260
New 3rd Opposition
2000
0 / 110
  17   8th Extra-parliamentary
2004 173,129
2.83%
New
0 / 110
  0   4th Extra-parliamentary

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ https://news.tut.by/politics/54866.html Минюст Беларуси зарегистрировал БСДП (Народная Громада) Читать полностью: https://news.tut.by/politics/54866.html?c
  2. ^ Korosteleva, Elena (2005). "The Emergence of a Party System". Postcommunist Belarus. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 38. ISBN 0-7425-3555-X.
  3. ^ Nordsieck, Wolfram. "Belarus". Parties and Elections in Europe. Archived from the original on 2004-10-10.
  4. ^ List of Socialist International parties in Europe Archived August 7, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
  5. ^ European Forum for Democracy and Solidarity
  6. ^ "Белорусского оппозиционера Статкевича арестовали на 15 суток".
  7. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2020-08-30. Retrieved 2022-01-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. ^ "Viasna condemns persecution of opposition leader Statkevich as politically motivated". Viasna Human Rights Centre. 30 June 2020. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  9. ^ "Mikalai Statkevich sentenced to 14 years". Socialist International. 14 December 2021. Retrieved 27 December 2021.