United Transitional Cabinet of Belarus

Belarusian government in exile
United Transitional Cabinet
of Belarus
Аб’яднаны Пераходны Кабінет Беларусі
Abjadnany Pierachodny Kabiniet Bielarusi

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Overview
Established9 August 2022
StateBelarus
LeaderHead (Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya)
Appointed byCoordination Council
Responsible toCoordination Council
HeadquartersVilnius, Lithuania (in exile)
WebsiteCabinetBelarus at Telegram Edit this at Wikidata
Politics of Belarus

Commonwealth of Independent States CIS Member State

Presidency
President
Alexander Lukashenko
Executive
Prime Minister
Roman Golovchenko
National Assembly
  • Council of the Republic
  • House of Representatives
Administrative divisions
Presidential elections

Parliamentary elections

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The United Transitional Cabinet of Belarus (Belarusian: Аб’яднаны пераходны кабінет Беларусі, romanized: Abjadnany pierachodny kabiniet Biełarusi) is a government in exile for Belarus that was formed in August 2022.[1][2]

Creation

Following the disputed 2020 Belarusian presidential election, opposition forces, led by presidential candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya formed a Coordination Council to facilitate a transition to democracy in the country. Tsikhanouskaya and several other members of the council were forced to leave Belarus or were placed under arrest during protests that broke out following the election.[3][4]

The United Transitional Cabinet was formed on 9 August 2022 during a two-day conference in Vilnius after members of the Belarusian opposition requested Tsikhanouskaya to form "a united interim government".[2][5]

Aims and guidelines

The stated aims of the United Transitional Cabinet are as follows:[1]

  • "Defend the independence and sovereignty of the Republic of Belarus, represent the national interests of Belarus."
  • "Carry out the de facto de-occupation of Belarus."
  • "Restore constitutional legality and the rule of law."
  • "Develop and implement measures to thwart the illegal retention of power, ensure the transit of power from dictatorship to democracy, and create conditions for fair and free elections."
  • "Develop and implement the solutions needed to secure a democratic change in Belarus."

Activities

In August 2022, activities of the Cabinet included the preparation of legal documents to define structures, responsibilities, decision-making methods, and selection of staff.[6] During a meeting with European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, Tsikhanouskaya announced plans for the Cabinet to issue alternative passports for Belarusians in 2024.[7]

The Cabinet issued some awards:

  • the Cross of Good Neighbourhood (Belarusian: Крыж добрасуседства, romanized: Kryž dobrasusedstva, Russian: Крест добрососедства, romanized: Krest dobrososedstva) - to be awarded to outstanding individuals who significantly help the cause of Belarusians. Recipients include Roberta Metsola, Stefan Eriksson and Þórdís Gylfadóttir.[7][8][9]
  • the Medal of Honor and Dignity - posthumously awarded to families of Belarusian soldiers fighting for Ukraine.[10][11]

Reaction

The European Parliament passed a resolution welcoming the formation of the United Transitional Cabinet on 24 November 2022.[12][13]

The European Union did not recognise Lukashenko’s claimed victory in the 2020 presidential election in Belarus stating that "These elections were neither free nor fair. The European Union considers their results falsified and therefore does not recognise the election results announced by the Central Election Commission of Belarus.[14]

Some leaders of the democratic movement in Belarus, including former presidential candidates, have not recognised the United Transitional Cabinet. Their main arguments are that no one elected the cabinet members, and therefore in their opinion the UTC does not represent the people.[15] One former presidential candidate of 2010, Andrei Sannikov, called the members of the cabinet "impostors".[15] Another former presidential candidate for 2020 Valery Tsepkalo stated that both Tsikhanouskaya's office, the Cabinet and the Coordination Council are "fake structures", "appointed by one person", because the Belarusian people did not participate in choosing the members of these structures and did not authorise them to develop programs.[16] They claim that many members of the cabinet are unknown in Belarus.[17]

On 30 August 2022, the KGB designated the Cabinet as an extremist group.[18] A few months later, the Cabinet's Telegram channel was added to the list of extremist materials.[19]

Members

Membership of the Cabinet is for a term of six months.[20] The former and current members of the transitional cabinet are as follows:[21][1]

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and United Transitional Cabinet Representatives at a press conference in Warsaw (2 Dec 2022)
Portfolio Name Photo Dates
Head[22] Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya
9 Aug 2022–present
Deputy Head and Representative for the Transfer of Power Pavel Latushko
9 Aug 2022–present[1]
Deputy Head and Representative for Foreign Affairs Valery Kavaleuski
9 Aug 2022–present[1]
Representative for Law and Order Aliaksandr Azarau
9 Aug 2022[1]–6 Aug 2023[23]
Representative for Defence and National Security Valery Sakhashchyk
9 Aug 2022[1]–Aug 2024[citation needed]
Vadzim Kabanchuk [be]
4 Aug 2024–present[citation needed]
Representative for Finance and Economy Tatsiana Zaretskaya[n 1] 9 Sep–2 Nov 2022[24][25]
Representative for National Revival Alina Koushyk
16 Sep 2022–present[26]
Representative for Social Issues Volha Harbunova
26 December 2022–present[27]
Representative for Youth Policy Margarita Vorikhova [be] 4 Aug 2024–present[citation needed]
Deputy Representative for Foreign Affairs Vladzimir Astapenka September 2022–present[28]
Deputy Representative for Legal Affairs Artsiom Proskalovich 14 November 2022 – present[29]
Deputy Representative for Personnel Yury Gubarevich 14 November 2022 – present[29]
Notes:
  1. ^ Resigned.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya announced the United Transitional Cabinet and named its first members". Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. 9 August 2022. Archived from the original on 2022-10-19. In my absence, Pavel Latushka and Valery Kavaleuski will be my deputies.
  2. ^ a b "On Second Anniversary Of Disputed Belarusian Presidential Poll, Tsikhanouskaya Names 'Interim Cabinet'". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 2022-08-09. Archived from the original on 2022-10-29. Retrieved 2022-10-29.
  3. ^ "В организованном Тихановской координационном совете по передаче власти назвали дату первой встречи". канал Дождь. 17 August 2020.
  4. ^ "Ex-Belarusian presidential candidate Tikhanovskaya's HQ starts forming coordination council to ensure transition of power". Interfax-Ukraine. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
  5. ^ Sieradzka, Monika (2022-10-08). "Belarus opposition leader says her people 'are ready to fight for our country'". Deutsche Welle. Archived from the original on 2022-10-15. Retrieved 2022-10-29.
  6. ^ ""Власти провели совещания по поводу создания Кабинета. Решение — наказать виновных". Александр Азаров о новой должности, деньгах и прогнозах" ['The authorities met about the creation of the Cabinet. Decision – punish the culprits.' Aliaksandr Azarau on his new position, funding and predictions]. Zerkalo.io (in Russian). 2022-08-26. Archived from the original on 2022-09-29. Retrieved 2022-11-02.
  7. ^ a b "Svietlana Tsikhanouskaya to MEPs: support Belarusians' European aspirations | News | European Parliament". www.europarl.europa.eu. 2023-09-13. Retrieved 2023-09-15.
  8. ^ "Глава Европарламента получила от Тихановской "Крест добрососедства" | Новости Беларуси | euroradio.fm". euroradio.fm (in Russian). 2023-09-13. Retrieved 2023-09-15.
  9. ^ "Святлана Ціханоўская ўзнагародзіла прэзідэнтку Еўрапарламента Крыжам добрасуседства / Афіцыйны сайт Святланы Ціханоўскай". tsikhanouskaya.org (in Belarusian). 2023-08-13. Retrieved 2023-09-15.
  10. ^ "Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya presented nine Honor and Dignity medals to families of Belarusian soldiers who died in Ukraine / Official web-site of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya". tsikhanouskaya.org. 2023-06-14. Retrieved 2023-09-15.
  11. ^ "Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya presented Honor and Dignity medals to families of Belarusian fighters who died in Ukraine / Official web-site of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya". tsikhanouskaya.org. 2023-06-10. Retrieved 2023-09-15.
  12. ^ "European Parliament: Belarus should be recognized as occupied territory | People's Embassies of Belarus".
  13. ^ "Texts adopted - the continuing repression of the democratic opposition and civil society in Belarus - Thursday, 24 November 2022".
  14. ^ Hurst, Luke (August 11, 2020). "EU foreign minister: Belarus elections were 'neither free nor fair'". euronews.
  15. ^ a b "Многие просят ответить, что это было". charter97.org.
  16. ^ "StackPath".
  17. ^ "Кабинет Тихановской. Кто эти люди? – DW – 10.08.2022". dw.com.
  18. ^ "В Беларуси признали "экстремистским формированием" созданный Светланой Тихановской Объединенный переходный кабинет". Current Time TV (in Russian). 2022-09-08. Retrieved 2022-09-11.
  19. ^ Телеграм-канал Объединенного переходного кабинета признан экстремистскими материалами
  20. ^ Yeryoma, Maria (2022-09-12). "Belarus Weekly: Russia continues to use Belarus as a launchpad for its missile strikes, Kyiv continues to bolster its border defenses". Kyiv Independent. Archived from the original on 2022-10-16. Retrieved 2022-10-29.
  21. ^ "На канфэрэнцыі ў Вільні Ціханоўская назвала склад пераходнага Кабінэту" [Tsikhanouskaya announced the composition of the Transitional Cabinet at a conference in Vilnius]. RFERL. Archived from the original on 2022-11-13.
  22. ^ "One hundred days of the United Transitional Cabinet". Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. 17 November 2022. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  23. ^ Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya (6 August 2023), 'Only one thing can stop me: if I don't feel support from Belarusians.' Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya's closing remarks at New Belarus Conference 2023, Wikidata Q123508477, archived from the original on 22 November 2023
  24. ^ "Tatsiana Zaretskaya assigned as the United Transitional Cabinet Representative for Finance and Economy". Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. 2022-09-09. Archived from the original on 2022-10-17. Retrieved 2022-10-29.
  25. ^ "Не выдержала давления. Татьяна Зарецкая объявила об уходе из Объединенного переходного кабинета" [She couldn't stand the pressure. Tatsiana Zaretskaya announced her resignation from the United Transitional Cabinet]. Belsat. 2022-11-02. Archived from the original on 2022-11-13. Retrieved 2022-11-06.
  26. ^ "Alina Koushyk assigned as the United Transitional Cabinet Representative for National Revival". Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. 2022-09-09. Archived from the original on 2022-10-19. Retrieved 2022-10-29.
  27. ^ "Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya appointed Volha Harbunova as the United Transitional Cabinet Representative for Social Issues". Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. 2022-12-26. Archived from the original on 2023-01-03. Retrieved 2023-01-03.
  28. ^ "Vladimir Astapenko". 1st European Political Community Summit. 2022. Archived from the original on 2022-12-27. Retrieved 2022-12-27.
  29. ^ a b "Appointment to the United Transitional Cabinet of Belarus". National Anti-Crisis Management. 2022-11-14. Archived from the original on 2023-01-03. Retrieved 2023-01-03.
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