Turnout in the KR elections: people are simply not interested in fights over an empty sack

I try not to repeat myself and not to write the same thing all the time, but today I will make an exception and duplicate word for word a post from two years ago. It has not lost its relevance even partially, and nothing fundamentally new has emerged that would force me to change or adjust my previous opinion.

«I am one of those, I think, many Belarusians who principledly did not vote in the elections to the Coordination Council: both having the practical opportunity to do so, and being aware of this opportunity.

The reason is the understanding that much time has passed since the national awakening of 2020-2021, and conditions have radically changed. Despite all the difficulties, there are still many areas where Belarusians, who care about the fate of their homeland, can invest in a future new Belarus. Cultural, media, educational, human rights, and even economic spheres. However, the opportunities to do something truly useful in the sphere of practical politics have shrunk to a minimum.

While there is instability in the region and consequently the future fate of Belarus is an open question for the Western world, there is undoubtedly sense in the existence of Tsikhanouskaya's Office. In any case, its functions are clear. But for all other Belarusian political entities, including (and perhaps primarily) the Coordination Council, unfortunately, there are currently no niches.

Because there are no levers or mechanisms to implement decisions potentially made by the Coordination Council. And without that, all its activities will be empty talk. And people sense this well — some on a conscious, some on a subconscious level. Which is reflected, among other things, in the voting results, primarily the turnout percentages.

Based on my own example — and not just my own, but also that of many friends and acquaintances — I can say that for many, it's not about disillusionment, detachment from the Belarusian agenda, or unwillingness to do something for Belarus's future, not about 'isolationism'. There is a desire to do something, but no desire to join this specific project.

Because it's genuinely unclear what useful outcome can come from it.

I cannot agree that the Coordination Council is important as a platform for training some political skills. That those who pass through it will supposedly gain great experience and become more politically competitive than those who lack such experience. When this is said, I recall the Belarusian 'old opposition,' i.e., those Belarusian activists who for years and decades engaged in politics in Lukashenka's Belarus under the factual absence of conditions for it. Logically, having acquired rich many years of experience in party and other building, in 2020 they should have used it and led the way everywhere in the events of that time.

Meanwhile, we saw the exact opposite — that rich 'experience' turned out to be completely unneeded, and entirely different people, with very few exceptions, rose to key political roles. Who did not yield their positions in the community even after the public surge subsided. I am confident that the same will happen on a new turn of historical development, when a new window of opportunities opens for Belarus and Belarusians. New times will bring forth new political leaders, as always happens in such cases; you cannot cultivate them in incubators.

Therefore, in my opinion, it's better not to play these games now. There will clearly be no practical benefit from this, and the ideologically inspiring function of this action, with only a few thousand people participating in the vote, is also doubtful.

I see the harm primarily in that if there are no objective opportunities to conduct genuinely useful activities, but a structure exists, then it must at least simulate such activities. And the most logical outlet for energy under such conditions is noisy public fights over an empty sack. And this strongly demoralizes the entire community».

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