Statement by High Representative/Vice President Kaja Kallas and Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos on the sham presidential elections in Belarus

On the occasion of the presidential elections held in the country on Sunday (26 January), High Representative/Vice President Kaja Kallas (pictured, left) and Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos issued the following statement:

“Today’s sham elections in Belarus were neither free nor fair. The Belarusian people deserve a real say in who governs their country. The relentless and unprecedented crackdown on human rights, restrictions on political participation and access to independent media in Belarus have deprived the electoral process of any legitimacy. We urge the regime to immediately and unconditionally release all political prisoners, more than a thousand of whom are arbitrarily detained, including an employee of the European Union Delegation.

"The regime’s decision to invite the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe/Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights only 10 days before the elections has prevented this independent body from accessing key stages of the electoral process. This is further evidence of the total lack of credibility of these elections.

"For these reasons, as well as the Belarusian 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. Once Belarus begins a democratic transition, the EU will be ready to help the country stabilise its economy and reform its institutions.

"Democracy requires free, fair and transparent elections, taking place in a society where human rights prevail, without restrictions on freedom of assembly or expression and where pluralistic media can operate freely. This is not the case in Belarus. The EU stands with the Belarusian people, and our support for the quest for a free, democratic, sovereign and independent Belarus, as part of a peaceful and prosperous Europe, is unwavering."

You can read the statement online.

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