Coordination Council (Belarus)

The Coordination Council, originally known as the Coordination Council for ensuring the transfer of power (Belarusian: Каардынацыйная рада, romanized: Kaardynacyjnaja rada; Russian: Координационный совет, romanized: Koordinatsionnyy sovyet) is a non-governmental body created by presidential candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya to facilitate a democratic transfer of power in Belarus. The council, founded during the 2020 Belarusian protests in response to the disputed 2020 Belarusian presidential election, originally had 64 core members (as of 13 February 2021) with a 7-member leadership presidium.

The first meeting of the Council took place on 18 August 2020. From late August to mid-October several of the presidium members were arrested or chose to exile themselves from Belarus, fearing repression by Belarusian security forces.

In 2022–2023, the Coordination Council was transformed into a more representative body, consisting of members from democratic groups in exile due to repression in Belarus.

In May 2024, the Coordination Council held its first direct digital election, with votes by 6,723 Belarusian citizens. The May 2026 election had 175 candidates for 80 seats, with 2,113 votes; a relative majority, with 34 seats, was won by the list of Pavel Latushko and Yury Hubarevich.

The European Parliament recognized the Coordination Council as a temporary representative body for the Belarusian people in its 2020 resolution 2020/2779(RSP), stating: "The European Parliament welcomes the Coordination Council as a temporary representative of the people demanding democratic change in Belarus and which is open to all political and social actors."