The Liberal Democratic Party of Belarus (LDPB, Belarusian: Ліберальна-дэмакратычная партыя Беларусі, romanized: Liberalna-demakratyčnaja partyja Biełarusi, Russian: Либерально-демократическая партия Беларуси, romanized: Liberal'no-demokraticheskaya partiya Belarusi) is a political party in Belarus. It was created in 1994 as the Belarusian successor of the Liberal Democratic Party of the Soviet Union.
Liberal Democratic Party of Belarus Ліберальна-дэмакратычная партыя Беларусі Либерально-демократическая партия Беларуси | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Abbreviation | LDPB (English) ЛДПБ (Belarusian and Russian) |
| Leader | Oleg Gaidukevich |
| Founders | Vasily Krivenko Sergei Gaidukevich |
| Founded | 5 February 1994 |
| Registered | 24 February 1994 |
| Preceded by | Liberal Democratic Party of the Soviet Union in Belarus |
| Headquarters | 12th Building, Filimonova St, Minsk, Belarus |
| Newspaper | Truth of Gaidukevich |
| Membership (2020) | 55,867 |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Right-wing |
| Regional affiliation | Liberal Democratic Party of Russia Liberal Democratic Party of Transnistria |
| Colours | Navy blue |
| Slogan | "Law! Order! Patriotism!" (Russian: «Закон! Порядок! Патриотизм!») "A Strong Belarus!" (Russian: «Сильная Беларусь!») |
| House of Representatives | 4 / 110 |
| Council of the Republic | 0 / 64 |
| Regional seats | 2 / 409 |
| Local seats | 4 / 18,110 |
| Party flag | |
  | |
| Website | |
| ldpb.by | |
Despite claiming to be a "constructive and democratic opposition" the party de facto supports the current president, Alexander Lukashenko (much like the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia with Vladimir Putin).[2]
In the legislative elections, 13–17 October 2004, the party won 1 out of 110 seats.[3] Its candidate in the presidential election of 2006, Sergei Gaidukevich, won 3.5% of the vote.[4]
Party leader Gaidukevich was a member of the House of Representatives from 2004 to 2008.[5] He was later a member of the Council of the Republic from 2016 to 2019.[6]
Ideology
editDespite the name, the party does not support liberalism or liberal democracy. Rather, according to political scientist Pippa Norris, the LDPB is an extremist party, dedicated to the restoration of the Soviet Union and Russian-Belarusian unionism. The party is opposed to NATO, the European Union and what it calls "international monopolies".[7] It gathers its main support from ex-servicemen mainly from the time of the Soviet Union, from nostalgics of the Soviet Union, and those who favor closer ties or even union with Russia; it is especially strong in Minsk, Vitebsk and some other regional cities.[7]
The LDPB has no democratic structure and was run by Sergei Gaidukevich from 1994 to 2019, when he was succeeded by his son Oleg Gaidukevich.[7][8] Its main domestic ally was the Belarusian Patriotic Party until it was banned in 2023.[7]
Election results
editPresidential elections
edit| Election | Candidate | First round | Second round | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | |||
| 1994 | Endorsed Vyacheslav Kebich | 1,023,174 | 748,329 | Lost 
| ||
| 2001 | Sergei Gaidukevich | 153,199 | Lost
| |||
| 2006 | Sergei Gaidukevich | 230,664 | Lost
| |||
| 2010 | Sergei Gaidukevich | Withdrew from the elections | ||||
| 2015 | Sergei Gaidukevich | 201,945 | Lost
| |||
| 2020 | Oleg Gaidukevich | Withdrew from the elections, supported Alexander Lukashenko | ||||
Legislative elections
edit| Election | Leader | Performance | Rank | Government | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | +/– | Seats | +/– | ||||
| 1995 | Sergei Gaidukevich | 0 / 260
|
New | 22nd | Extra-parliamentary | |||
| 2000 | 1 / 110
|
 1
|
5th
|
"Constructive opposition" | ||||
| 2004 | 122,605 | New | 1 / 110
|
 0
|
3rd
|
"Constructive opposition" | ||
| 2008 | 43,752 |  1.20
|
0 / 110
|
1
|
6th
|
Extra-parliamentary | ||
| 2012 | 249,455 | 3.95
|
0 / 110
|
0
|
4th
|
Extra-parliamentary | ||
| 2016 | 218,081 | 0.52
|
1 / 110
|
1
|
4th
|
"Constructive opposition" | ||
| 2019 | Oleg Gaidukevich | 280,683 | 1.12
|
1 / 110
|
0
|
4th
|
"Constructive opposition" | |
| 2024 | Oleg Gaidukevich | 4 / 110
|
3
|
4th
|
"Constructive opposition" | |||
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Nordsieck, Wolfram (2008). "Belarus". Parties and Elections in Europe. Archived from the original on 2011-08-24.
- ^ European Forum for Democracy and Solidarity Archived 2014-10-02 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Nohlen, Dieter; Stöver, Philip (2010). Elections in Europe: A Data Handbook. Nomos. p. 252. ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7.
- ^ Nohlen, Dieter; Stöver, Philip (2010). Elections in Europe: A Data Handbook. Nomos. p. 262. ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7.
- ^ "депутатов Палаты представителей Национального собрания Республики Беларусь третьего созыва 17 октября 2004 года" (PDF). ИТОГИ ВЫБОРОВ. 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016.
- ^ "Члены Савета Рэспублікі | Структура, парадак фарміравання, кампетэнцыя і формы работы Парламента".
- ^ a b c d Norris, Pippa (2005). Radical Right: Voters and Parties in the Electoral Market. Cambridge University Press. p. 75. ISBN 978-1-139-44642-6.
- ^ "Либерально Демократическая Партия Беларуси". Репортёр Беларуси. 2021-01-13.
External links
edit- Official website
(in Russian) - Old website
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