European Parliament urges the EU to reject upcoming election in Belarus as a sham

The European Parliament has passed a resolution urging the EU to oppose the “presidential elections” scheduled for Belarus on January 26. The press service of the European Parliament has reported this.

The EU should refuse to recognize Alexander Lukashenko’s anticipated victory, the document says. MEPs have also reaffirmed their support for the Belarusian people in their fight for democracy.

The European Parliament has urged the EU to broaden sanctions against Belarusian authorities.

The vote on the resolution took place in the afternoon of January 22. 429 deputies supported the resolution, 205 voted against it, and 23 abstained.

The resolution condemns the ongoing repression in Belarus and its intensification ahead of the so-called “elections” scheduled for January 26.

“The European Parliament calls on the EU, the member states, and the international community not to recognize the legitimacy of the current dictator Alexander Lukashenko as president after this vote,” the text says.

MEPs recall that Lukashenko has been the country’s unchanging leader since 1994, and this time, unlike the 2020 elections, his “rivals” are exclusively formal candidates.

“Emphasizing the non-recognition of Lukashenko as president and the position that the entire Belarusian regime is illegitimate, MEPs express their unwavering support for the Belarusian people in their aspiration for democracy, freedom, and respect for human rights,” the text adds.

They also express concern about the situation of political prisoners in Belarus, of whom, according to the Viasna human rights center, there are over 1,200, and call on the EU to continue investigating human rights violations in Belarus and to help bring those responsible to justice.

MEPs condemn the Lukashenko regime’s complicity in Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and its transformation into a subject subordinate to Russia within the “union state.”.

The resolution calls on the EU and its partners to expand and strengthen sanctions against individuals and legal entities in Belarus involved in internal repression and Belarus’ participation in Russian aggression against Ukraine.

Last week, the US State Department stressed that elections in Belarus cannot be free in conditions of repression.

After the rigged elections in August 2020, Lukashenko harshly suppressed protests by thousands of Belarusians. Since then, the country has seen no real opposition; the government has blocked free media and imprisoned or exiled regime opponents.

The leader of the united Belarusian opposition in exile, Svitlana Tsikhanouvskaya, stated that the upcoming so-called presidential elections in Belarus cannot be called elections and called on the West not to recognize the results.

“Lukashenko is indeed rushing to hold these staged elections, scheduling them six months ahead of time. His regime is a personalist autocracy, and the dictator himself—his physical ability to control power—is the weakest point of this system. But I believe we should not just sit and wait for someone’s death or diagnose him based on photos. We must all act,” Tsikhanouvskaya said in an interview with Espreso.

“Lukashenko’s regime persists in tightening its grip, yet this is not an indication of strength but rather a sign of weakness. He literally clings to power through repression and Putin’s support. Lukashenko carries the trauma of 2020, when hundreds of thousands of Belarusians took to the streets. He lives with this fear and behaves as if thousands are still standing outside his palace,” she added.