So-called presidential elections in Belarus ‘set to be a sham’, says PACE General Rapporteur
“The so-called presidential elections arranged in Belarus for 26 January 2025 are set to be a sham that, again, deny the right of the Belarusian people to participate in free and fair elections,” says PACE’s General Rapporteur for a Democratic Belarus, Ryszard Petru (Poland, ALDE).
“The widespread repression by the Lukashenka regime that led to the arbitrary detention of tens of thousands of peaceful protesters after the fraudulent elections of 2020 has only continued to this day in blatant disregard of international law and democratic norms,” he added.
“Over 1,200 political prisoners remain in detention, opposition political parties and trade unions have been liquidated and their leaders persecuted, and up to 500,000 Belarusians now live in exile.
An election held under such oppressive conditions – marked by the absence of freedoms of speech, assembly and association, the lack of credible domestic or international election observations, and the absence of a transparent vote-counting process – cannot and will not meet international recognised standards of fairness and legitimacy.
We stand in solidarity with the people of Belarus and are committed to supporting the Belarusian democratic forces led by Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya in pursuit of a democratic future in an independent, sovereign, peaceful and prosperous Belarus,” concluded Mr Petru.
A representative delegation of Belarusian democratic forces is due to participate in the work of the Parliamentary Assembly from the beginning of next week’s winter plenary session in Strasbourg.