Today at 22:01
The European Parliament has adopted a resolution by a majority vote calling on the EU and the international community not to recognize the “presidential elections” scheduled for January 26 in Belarus.
429 MPs voted in favor of the resolution, 205 were against, and 23 abstained. The document condemns the intensification of repression in Belarus on the eve of the “elections” and emphasizes the illegitimacy of the regime of Alexander Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994.
The text of the resolution emphasizes:
Illegitimacy of the elections: Lukashenka has no competitors in the elections, and the opposition is completely suppressed.
Support of the Belarusian people: MEPs expressed their solidarity with the Belarusians in their quest for democracy and freedom.
Human rights: There are more than 1200 political prisoners in the country, and the European Parliament calls for increased investigations into human rights violations.
The resolution also condemns the Lukashenko regime’s complicity in Russia’s war against Ukraine and the transformation of Belarus into a dependent entity in the “union state.” MEPs call for expanding sanctions against those involved in repression and Russian aggression.
Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, leader of the united Belarusian opposition, said that the upcoming “elections” cannot be called elections. She called on the West not to recognize their results.
The 2020 elections, which Lukashenka rigged, led to mass protests that were brutally suppressed. Since then, the independent press has been blocked, and opponents of the regime have been either imprisoned or forced to leave the country.
