Future of democracy might be born in exile: Building a New Belarus

In 2020, the streets of Minsk became a battleground for democracy. Hundreds of thousands of Belarusians took to the streets, their chants echoing through the city as they demanded free and fair elections. This movement marked a significant turning point for many who had never engaged in politics before, including myself.

As a top manager of one of Belarus's largest IT companies, one of Belarus's largest IT companies, I had been involved in numerous volunteer projects, collaborating with various governmental and non-governmental organizations. However, the presidential election that year prompted a dramatic shift in focus. We began developing "Golos" (The Voice), a platform designed to verify election results by allowing people to upload pictures of their polling sheets. Over a million Belarusians registered, and the data clearly demonstrated the state's electoral fraud.

Results of 1 million confirmed votes on the "Voice" platform, demonstrating election fraud. Detailed reports with protocols for each polling station are available on the platform – https://belarus2020.org/election

Exodus from Belarus: The Birth of New Belarus

The government decided to suppress the protests with force, and unfortunately, they succeeded. There were killings of peaceful demonstrators and thousands of political prisoners during complete internet blackouts. The increasing repression forced over 500,000 Belarusians, including much of the political opposition, to flee the country. All organizations linked to civil tech, including our team, were branded as terrorists. We managed to escape just before arrests began, maintaining anonymity to avoid KGB persecution.

Data sourced from public resources. Human Rights Center "Viasna" monitors political prisoners in Belarus. The founder of the center, Ales Bialiatski, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate (2022), is also imprisoned as a prisoner of conscience

After leaving the country, I continued to launch new initiatives. Cause it is probably the only way we can act in Belarus, because the physical space is completely covered by military and police. What started as a platform for medical and legal aid, rapidly evolved into "New Belarus" – a comprehensive ecosystem serving the needs of the widespread diaspora. Over 68,000 Belarusians across the globe were connected through this hub.

Key Initiatives of New Belarus

- Free Online Medical Services: Providing healthcare access, especially to those in small towns and villages in Belarus.

- Legal Aid for the Repressed: Offering crucial legal support to those targeted by the regime.

- Business Map: Connecting over 2,000 Belarusian businesses worldwide.

- Event Listings: Keeping the community informed and connected.

Inspired by donation models in Poland and Lithuania, where citizens can allocate a portion of their taxes to charitable causes, we raised 47,000 euros last year. This funded a Belarusian Library in Vilnius and a Belarusian history website in Poland. Such models empower individuals to influence fund allocation, fostering a sense of community ownership and responsibility.

Zero-Knowledge Proof Ensures Fair Digital Elections

But one of our most ambitious projects so far was developing a secure online voting system for the democratic opposition's Coordination Council elections. Drawing on our experience with Golos, we created a system that could ensure voter safety amid severe repression. The challenges were immense:

Developing an online voting system is not a difficult task, but making it safe for people is a challenge. On May 25, the Belarusian Investigative Committee initiated criminal cases under four different criminal articles against all 257 candidates. This meant that voters in Belarus risked arrest if the regime detected their digital footprints. For example, the latest version of iOS always stores a transaction record of downloading the application, and this is kept in history for a year.

Candidates for the Belarusian opposition's Coordination Council present their strategies at a conference in Warsaw.

• We had to get incredibly creative. Our frontend and backend had no domains, appearing to ISPs as regular Google traffic to avoid triggering flags. It was an innovative franken-solution, but the only way to keep people safe.

• For voter verification, we partnered with Veriff, a KYC provider trusted by major financial institutions. Importantly, after verifying the authenticity of the documents, all files and user data were deleted, with only an encrypted signal being transmitted to indicate that this user could vote. Despite the costs, this step was crucial for maintaining election integrity, and I covered these costs out of my own pocket. In the future, the responsibility for Digital ID costs may shift to individuals, reflecting a sustainable model for democratic participation.

• We used Vocdoni as our blockchain tool for anonymous or Zero-knowledge proof voting. Despite debates on its necessity, it attracted a tech-savvy audience and demonstrated the potential for secure digital voting. We ended up liking this experience, and we will continue to work with blockchain for certain modules.

Screenshot showing the entire process a user must go through to vote, ensuring security and anonymity at each step.

The Coordination Council hired an external company to audit the entire project. They were, of course, amazed by this complexity, but it worked, and they found no vulnerabilities. Unfortunately, one of the conditions was an NDA, as not everyone wants to participate in political projects. I suspect their services are VERY expensive. Philanthropists interested in democratic election outcomes funded this work for the Coordination Council.

This election platform did not become part of New Belarus in terms of code; it became a standalone product, but an open one, distributed and accessible to everyone. The entire platform is open-source and can be used by anyone under the appropriate license without any restrictions.

Election Results

The elections saw 6,723 participants, and despite all precautions, about 1,500 of the votes were cast from within Belarus, indicating a strong atmosphere of fear today.

Screenshot showing the election results on the Vocdoni platform. Detailed results can be viewed at Vocdoni

It's important to understand what we achieved – we held national elections with participation from people around the world using Self-Sovereign Identity (people decide what to do with their data) and a blockchain voting platform (all transactions can be verified). All of this was fully audited and recognized as fair by a team of seven international observers led by French parliamentarian Frédéric Petit. Belarusians are amazing!

The Road Ahead: Creating a Self-Governing Platform

Our vision for New Belarus is to form a civil society where people can choose suitable politicians, understand their responsibilities, and exercise their power collectively. We aim to work at the societal level, ensuring that the platform's governance remains separate from any political ideology. By creating an association where people elect a board to set platform rules, we strive to maintain a neutral technological framework that unites Belarusians worldwide.

For the past six months, we have been working with lawyers on creating an association where people can elect a board that will determine the platform's rules. Because we do not want to touch ideology and only work on the technological part.

As I look to New Belarus's future, I see a world of possibility opening through civil tech. My infant son, born stateless in Lithuania, is a true global citizen. In 20 years, who knows what nation he may feel part of.

Interviewed and edited by Ray Svitla