The Central Election Commission of Belarus refused to register presidential candidate Babariko

Now he is under arrest, he was charged under three criminal charges.

Babariko is accused of legalizing income obtained illegally, of tax evasion and of giving a bribe. He was arrested on June 19 with his son Eduard after searches were conducted at his home. The candidate’s son is also charged with a bribe.

In addition, according to the Central Election Commission, Babariko used the help of Russia in his campaign, writes Interfax. Earlier, President Alexander Lukashenko accused Russia and Poland of interfering in the state’s domestic policy. The President urged not to repeat the Ukrainian Maidan.

In total, seven candidates submitted applications to the election commission. One of them - Valery Tsepkalo did not have enough signatures, he was refused registration. He collected only 75.2 thousand signatures instead of the hundred thousand necessary to register for the elections. Babariko scored the required number of signatures. He is called Lukashenko’s main rival in the upcoming elections.

In total, five candidates for the top post in Belarus were registered: Alexander Lukashenko (president of Belarus), Sergey Cherechen (chairman of the Belarusian Social Democratic Gramada), Svetlana Tikhanovskaya (wife of the Belarusian video blogger Sergei Tikhanovsky, she nominated herself after being nominated for her a criminal case was brought against her husband, who criticized the head of state), Andrei Dmitriev (co-chair of the Tell the Truth movement) and Anna Kanopatskaya (former member of parliament).

The presidential election in Belarus will be held on August 9. Lukashenko said earlier that the elections will be held this summer, despite the coronavirus pandemic. Analysts have calculated that if the presidential election in the country is fair, Lukashenko will not become president.