{"id":123531,"date":"2025-01-26T20:29:36","date_gmt":"2025-01-26T17:29:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/123531\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","slug":"eu-belarus-election-lacks-legitimacy-belarusians-deserve-better","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/123531\/","title":{"rendered":"EU: Belarus’ election lacks legitimacy, Belarusians deserve better"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n\n \"\"\n
\n \n
\n (Pozirk)<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

January 26, Pozirk<\/em>.<\/strong> Belarusians “deserve a real say in who governs their country,” yet “today\u2019s sham election in Belarus has been neither free nor fair,” says<\/a> a statement by Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, and Marta Kos, EU commissioner for enlargement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The EU is on the side of the Belarusian people and our support in their quest for a free, democratic, sovereign and independent Belarus, as part of a peaceful and prosperous Europe, is unwavering,” they stressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lithuanian president Gitanas Naus\u0117da echoed this statement, noting in a post on X that Belarusians \u201cdeserve to elect their leaders in free and fair elections.\u201d \u201cWhat is happening in Belarus today cannot be called elections,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka’s instrumentalization of democratic procedures to stay in power will not earn him legitimacy, he noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

The five presidential bidders were Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka, his supporters Aleh Hajdukievi\u010d, Alaksandar Chi\u017eniak, Siarhiej Syranko\u016d as well as former MP Hanna Kanapackaja.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n
\n \"\"
\n

Rights defenders: \u0141uka\u0161enka\u2019s contenders invisible as authorities fake competition<\/h3>\n
January 25, Pozirk. Belarusian authorities imitate competition at the seventh presidential election on January 21-26 amid ongoing reprisals, says a recent report by the Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections. Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka\u2019s contenders for the presidential office did not position …<\/div>\n \n