The United Transitional Cabinet is an alternative government for

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 ...

that was formed in August 2022.

Creation

Following disputed

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 ...

, opposition forces, led by presidential candidate

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya 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 ...

formed a

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 ...

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 A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration or remonstrance) is a public expression of objection, disapproval or dissent towards an idea or action, typically a political one. Protests can be thought of as acts of coopera ...

that broke out following the election. The United Transitional Cabinet was formed on 9 August 2022 during a two-day conference in

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...

after members of the Belarusian opposition requested Tsikhanouskaya to form "a united interim government".

Aims and guidelines

The stated aims of the United Transitional Cabinet are as follows: *"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 In psychology, decision-making (also spelled decision making and decisionmaking) is regarded as the Cognition, cognitive process resulting in the selection of a belief or a course of action among several possible alternative options. It could be ...

methods, and selection of staff.

Reaction

The

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

passed a resolution welcoming the formation of the United Transitional Cabinet on 24 November 2022. The

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

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. 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. One former presidential candidate of 2010

Andrei Sannikov Andrei Olegovich Sannikov (or Andrei Sannikau, be, Андрэй Алегавіч Саннікаў, russian: Андрей Олегович Санников, born 8 March 1954) is a Belarusian politician and activist. In the early 1990s, he headed ...

called the members of the cabinet “impostors”. Another former presidential candidate for 2020

Valery Tsepkalo Valery Tsepkalo (russian: Валерий Цепкало) or Valery Tsapkala ( be, Валерый Цапкала; Doctor of Law, born 22 February 1965) is a Belarusian politician, diplomat, executive, and entrepreneur. He holds a Doctorate degree i ...

stated that both Tihanovskaya's office, the Cabinet and the

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. They claim that many members of the cabinet are unknown in Belarus.

Members

Membership of the Cabinet is for a term of six months. The members of the transitional cabinet are as follows:

References

External links

United Transitional CabinetUnited Transitional Cabinet
on Telegram
New Belarus ConferencePeople's Embassies of Belarus
{{Belarusian democracy movement 2020–2021 Belarusian protests Belarusian opposition Politics of Belarus 2022 in Belarus Democratization Exile organizations Governments in exile