Razam ( Belarusian: Разам,

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

: Вместе; lit. 'Together') is a Belarusian political party founded by

Viktar Babaryka Viktar Dzmitryevich Babaryka ( be, Віктар Дзмітрыевіч Бабарыка or Viktor Dmitryevich Babariko; born 9 November 1963) is a Belarusian banker, philanthropist, public and opposition political figure who intended to become a ...

and

Maria Kalesnikava Maria Kalesnikava (Marya Alyaksandrauna Kalesnikava, , ; Maria Aleksandrovna Kolesnikova, Russian: Мария Александровна Колесникова, ; born 24 April 1982) is a Belarusian professional flautist and political activist. ...

on 14 June 2020. According to the party leaders, Razam is independent of the work of the

Coordination Council Coordination Council may refer to: * Coordination Council (Afghanistan) * Coordination Council of Leftist Forces, a political alliance in Azerbaijan * Coordination Council (Belarus), an opposition council of Belarusians aiming to transfer power fr ...

, a Belarusian non-governmental body created by presidential candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya to facilitate a democratic transfer of power as the result of the 2020 Belarusian presidential election.

History

Razam was established on 14 June 2020, ahead of the contested

2020 Belarusian Presidential election Presidential elections were held in Belarus on Sunday, 9 August 2020. Early voting began on 4 August and ran until 8 August. Incumbent Alexander Lukashenko was announced by the Central Election Commission (CEC) to have won a sixth term in offi ...

. The party's founders later supported

Svetlana Tikhanovskaya Sviatlana Heorhiyeuna Tsikhanouskaya (' Pilipchuk;, , ; russian: Светлана Георгиевна Тихановская, , Svetlana Georgiyevna Tikhanovskaya, , , born 11 September 1982) is a Belarusian educator and the leader of the Bel ...

's claim to have won a decisive first-round victory with at least 60% of the vote in the presidential election on 9 August 2020. The party aims to uphold the demands of the

based on Tikhanovskaya's election program. Razam members have been actively participating in the Coordination Council's work to resolve the political crisis through a peaceful dialogue. On 19 June 2020, Babaryka proposed to amend the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

through a referendum. Razam leaders insisted that it was impossible to form an effective governing system in the country without presidential term limits, a clear separation of powers, and meaningful input from the parliament.

Criticism

Political scientists are skeptical about the possibility of the official registration of the party. No political parties have been registered in

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

since 2000. The registration of the party does not favor the

Alexander Lukashenko Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko (as transliterated from Russian language, Russian; also transliterated from Belarusian language, Belarusian as Alyaksand(a)r Ryhoravich Lukashenka;, ; rus, Александр Григорьевич Лука� ...

regime. However, journalists and political commentators note that there is nothing wrong with organizing supporters of change.

References

External links

Решение о создании партии «Вместе»
{{DEFAULTSORT:Razam 2020 establishments in Belarus Belarusian opposition Political parties established in 2020 Political parties in Belarus