Belarusian opponents nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize

The Nobel Committee accepts all nominations for the Peace Prize submitted to it before January 31 by persons authorized to do so under the statutes of the Nobel Foundation.

Geir Toskedal, a Norwegian MP for the Christian Democratic Party, nominated Belarusian opponents Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, Maria Kolesnikova and Veronika Tsepkalo for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize.

Toskedal said in an interview with the Vart Land newspaper that he is nominating leaders of the Belarusian opposition “for their fight for fair elections and for being the inspirers of peaceful opposition protests against the illegitimate regime in Belarus.”

He stressed the “fantastic courage” of the protesters and expressed the hope that his proposal would attract “even more attention to the peaceful struggle against the last dictator of Europe” and to those who are fighting for “a free and democratic Belarus”.

The Nobel Committee accepts all nominations submitted to it before January 31 by persons authorized to do so in accordance with the Nobel Foundation letter. Geir Toskedal falls into this category.

Every year, the Nobel committee receives hundreds of proposals. The names of the proposed candidates have been kept secret for fifty years, but nominators have the right to publicly disclose their choice.