Polish president slams Belarus’ upcoming presidential election as fraud

January 10, Pozirk. The upcoming presidential election in Belarus will most likely have nothing to do with elections in the democratic sense, Polish President Andrzej Duda told Belarusian opposition leader Śviatłana Cichanoŭskaja in Warsaw yesterday.
“Again, we will see what we have already observed – just fraud,” he said.
The current Belarusian electoral campaign is taking place amid stepped-up reprisals, Duda added, noting a recent lengthy prison sentence for Catholic priest Hienryk Akałatovič.
Duda and Cichanoŭskaja also discussed ways to secure the release of Andrej Pačobut, journalist and Polish minority activist, as well as all other political prisoners.
Cichanoŭskaja arrived in Poland on January 8 on a three-day visit that focuses on the European strategy for Belarus during Poland’s presidency of the European Union. She met with Prime Minister Donald Tusk and several other top officials.
Belarus will hold its seventh presidential election from January 21 to 26, with the whole election cycle limited to just three months. The current campaign is taking place in a purged political landscape amid a new crackdown on regime critics.
The Belarusian opposition dismissed the election as a sham, noting that political reprisals prevent pro-democracy candidates from running and voters from freely expressing their will.
The country has not held a single free and fair election since 1996 by the standards of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

Polish Senate marshal denounces Belarus' election as sham
- PoliticsŁukašenka says Belarusian should be grateful to his government for staying away from warThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- SocietyWoman killed by hit-and-run Belarusian in PolandThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsFour more people recognized as political prisonersThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsUpper house passes bill to ban “extremists” from educationThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- SocietyBelarusian universities to offer 1,000 tuition-free places for Russians this yearThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Society
- SocietyPoland seizes medical products from Belarus with Interpol involvementThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- EconomyKuźniacoŭ replaces Jafimaŭ as industry ministerThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsRights defenders label seven as political prisonersThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsLukašenka appoints ambassadors to Africa, Middle East, Latin AmericaThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Economy
- PoliticsŁukašenka appoints more than a dozen local officialsThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- SocietyMPs vote to criminalize unauthorized possession of dronesThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics
- PoliticsPaźniak: Washington can pull Belarus away from RussiaThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics
- SecurityBelarus to open six new border outpostsThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- SecurityLithuania detects irregular migration at Belarus border after days of calmThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- EconomyBelarus’ cattle population shrinksThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsMinsk brands 33 more people as extremistsThe material is available only to POZIRK+