{"id":123361,"date":"2025-01-25T20:32:56","date_gmt":"2025-01-25T17:32:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/123361\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","slug":"ep-president-belarus-election-tomorrow-a-sham","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/123361\/","title":{"rendered":"EP President: Belarus’ election tomorrow a sham"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n\n \u015aviat\u0142ana Cichano\u016dskaja and Roberta Metsola\n <\/div>\n \n
\n (Cichano\u016dskaja's Telegram channel)<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

January 25, Pozirk<\/em>. <\/strong>Roberta Metsola, the president of the European Parliament, has described the seventh Belarusian presidential election on January 21-26 as a sham.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy message to the people of Belarus is: keep strong, we have your back, the time of dictatorship will be over. Democracy will prevail,” she said on X.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Belarusian opposition leader \u015aviat\u0142ana Cichano\u016dskaja thanked Metsola for “standing with the people of Belarus.” “Your solidarity reminds us that democracy will win, and Belarusians will take their rightful place in Europe\u2019s family of free nations,” she reacted to EP President’s post on X.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three days ago, MEPs adopted a resolution, denouncing Belarus\u2019 election as fraudulent amid\u00a0politically-motivated reprisals and the abuse of democratic principles in Belarus, which intensified in the run-up to the election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Belarus\u2019 seventh presidential election scheduled for January 21-26 is taking place in a purged political landscape amid a new wave of crackdown on regime critics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The presidential bidders are Alaksandar  \u0141uka\u0161enka, in power since 1994, his supporters Aleh Hajdukievi\u010d, Alaksandar Chi\u017eniak and Siarhiej Syranko\u016d. Another candidate is Hanna Kanapackaja, a former member of the United Civic Party and an MP from 2016 to 2019, who also ran for president in 2020. She positions herself as a \u201cdemocratic alternative,\u201d yet criticizes \u0141uka\u0161enka\u2019s exiled or jailed opponents rather than himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Political reprisals prevent pro-democracy candidates from running and voters from freely expressing their will, Belarusian opposition said earlier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Belarus has not held a single free and fair election since 1996 by the standards of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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