Topic: Promoting Peaceful Post-Election Transitions
Country: Belarus
Delegate Name: Hannah Cottrell
School: Forest Hills Eastern High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Belarus position papers GLIMUN 2008 committees
Post-election periods oftentimes are violent and instable periods for countries, especially when the country has little cohesiveness to begin with. Though democracy is a noble enterprise and the ability of a nation to have elections is commendable, the violence that can ensue after an election can often outweigh the positive effects that generally follow an election. One problem that can especially affect the transitions after elections is over partisanship. Too many separate factions within a country can create hostility with the transition from one political party to another. If one party is reluctant to accept the leadership of another party, the members of the losing party are capable of creating widespread havoc throughout a country. However, these situations are relatively atypical and do not exemplify the transitions that take place in most countries around the world. Thus, it is the responsibility of the United Nations to intervene only when necessary, and only with the expressed permission of said county’s government.
In the case of Belarus, our government has had little problem with peaceful post-election transitions as our head of state has remained in power for the entirety of the Republic of Belarus’ existence. By diffusing the opposition groups, Belarus has successfully mastered the art of keeping a country in peace. With our leader, Alexandr Lukashenko, at the helm of our nation, we have felt no need to look towards others for leadership. If other countries could follow in Belarus’s footsteps and find leaders that inspire the country to join together in commonality.
The United Nations must work to diffuse any potentially violent post-election transition; yet, an intervention of such nature must only be undergone if the explicit permission of the nation is given.
