An Update on the Runup to Presidential Elections in Belarus The republic of Belarus is getting ready for presidential elections. They are scheduled to take place on the 9th of August. Authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko is running again for president; often dubbed “ Europe’s last dictator ”, he is expected to win (as he did in the 2001, 2006, 2010 and in the 2015 elections). The regime is infamous for its human rights violations and the authoritarian style of governance of the Lukashenko administration . In the Economic Intelligence Unit Democracy Index 2019 (EIU), the country is ranked as “authoritarian” . The abuses concern journalists, civil society activists and independent media as well as ordinary citizens who protest. In 2012, I already wrote an article on the human rights situation in Belarus when I visited one of the constituency congresses of our friends from the Belarusian Christian Democracy party. Unfortunately, nothing has changed...