Igor Karpenko (politician)

Igor Vasilievich Karpenko (Russian: Игорь Васильевич Карпенко; born 28 April 1964) is a Belarusian politician serving as chairman of the Central Election Commission since 2021.^[1] From 2016 to 2021, he served as minister of education.^[2] From 2012 to 2017, he served as first secretary of the Communist Party.^[3]

Igor Karpenko
Karpenko in 2019
Chairman of the Central Election Commission
Incumbent
Assumed office 13 December 2021
President	Alexander Lukashenko
Preceded by	Lidia Yermoshina
Minister of Education
In office 15 December 2016 – 13 December 2021
President	Alexander Lukashenko
Prime Minister	Andrei Kobyakov Syarhey Rumas Roman Golovchenko
Preceded by	Mikhail Zhuravkov
Succeeded by	Andrei Ivanets
First Secretary of the Communist Party
In office 20 October 2012 – 14 May 2017
Preceded by	Tatyana Golubeva
Succeeded by	Aliaksiej Sokal
Personal details
Born	(1964-04-28) 28 April 1964 (age 60)
Political party	Communist Party of Belarus

International Sanctions

On June 3, 2022, the EU Council moved to imposed personal restrictions on Karpenko, namely an asset freeze and a travel ban, due to his role as the Chairman of the Central election Commission in organizing, conducting, and certifying the 2022 February constitutional referendum that did not meet international standards of fairness and transparency.^[4]

On January 27, 2025, the UK's Foreign Office in a coordinated move with Canada's Global Affairs imposed sanctions on Belarusian officials, including Karpenko, in response to the fraudulent 2025 presidential elections that took place on Sunday, the day before.^[5][6]

References

1. "New Belarus' Central Election Commission chief pledges to be open, outspoken". Belarusian Telegraph Agency. 13 December 2021.
2. "Лукашенко сменил главу ЦИК Беларуси" (in Russian). Deutsche Welle. 13 December 2021.
3. "Новым председателем ЦИК Беларуси назначен Игорь Карпенко". Prime Press (in Russian). 13 December 2021.
4. "COUNCIL IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) 2022/876 of 3 June 2022 implementing Article 8a(1) of Regulation (EC) No 765/2006 concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Belarus and the involvement of Belarus in the Russian aggression against Ukraine".
5. "UK applies fresh sanctions following sham election in Belarus". GOV.UK. 27 January 2025. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
6. Canada, Global Affairs (27 January 2025). "Minister Joly announces new sanctions in response to fraudulent presidential election and ongoing human rights violations in Belarus". www.canada.ca. Retrieved 27 January 2025.