On Monday 27 January, the EU, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand condemned the previous day’s “presidential election sham” in Belarus and the “appalling human rights violations” perpetrated by the Belarusian regime. Alexander Lukashenko, in power since 1994, has been re-elected for a seventh term.
“No election can be considered free, fair or in line with international standards when it is held in a climate of ongoing repression, marked by a clampdown on civil society, arbitrary detentions, and restrictions on genuine political participation”, stressed these partners in a joint statement.
In their view, the regime’s decision to invite the OSCE/ODIHR to observe the elections only ten days beforehand prevented the mission from gaining access to key stages of the electoral process. “These actions are at odds with Belarus’ international commitments and demonstrate a clear desire to avoid transparency in the electoral process”, the EU and its partners stated.
The day before, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, and the European Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos, had denounced the “rigged” elections, which were “neither free nor fair”.
Because of the situation in the country, but also because of the regime’s involvement in Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and its hybrid attacks against its neighbours, “the EU will continue to impose restrictive and targeted measures against the regime, while financially supporting civil society, Belarusian democratic forces in exile and Belarusian culture”, they warned. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)