President Alexander Lukashenko is seeking a seventh term amid a backdrop of past rigged elections and ongoing repression in Belarus. The 2020 elections led to mass protests, which were violently suppressed. Many opposition figures, including Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, have fled the country, and political prisoners remain a significant issue. The upcoming elections are criticized as undemocratic and a farce by the European Commission, with exiled activists expressing despair over the lack of genuine democratic processes. The situation in Belarus is dire, with fears of worsening conditions if the elections are recognized internationally.