Palina Szarenda-Panasiuk donated ballots from the 2020 elections which authorities tried to destroy to the Museum

This week, former political prisoner and activist Palina Szarenda-Panasiuk donated original ballot papers from the 2020 presidential elections to the Free Belarus Museum.

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On 10–11 August, immediately after the elections, the ballots were reportedly taken to one of the boiler rooms in Brest and set on fire, in blatant violation of applicable laws and legal norms. Brest-based activists managed to rescue part of the ballots from the flames and passed them on to Palina Szarenda-Panasiuk.

During Palina Szarenda-Panasiuk’s imprisonment for her civic and human rights activities, the ballots remained hidden within Belarus. Only after she left the country was it possible to transport them to Warsaw.

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Today, 20 ballot papers have become new exhibits at the Free Belarus Museum. They constitute direct evidence of electoral fraud and large-scale deception of the Belarusian people at one of the most critical moments in the country’s recent history - a time when truth was of decisive importance and genuinely changed our lives.

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