The European Parliament has condemned the upcoming presidential elections in Belarus in a resolution calling the process "sham" and condemning the regime of authoritarian ruler Alexander Lukashenko.
MEPs adopted the resolution by a majority vote on January 22, with 567 votes in favor, 25 against and 66 abstentions. The vote came four days before the presidential election in Belarus on January 26, which Lukashenko is expected to win if he has no serious opponents.
The resolution paints a bleak picture of the political environment in Belarus, where 70-year-old Lukashenko has been in power since 1994.
This week's election is the first presidential election since the 2020 vote sparked mass unrest after Lukashenko was declared the winner despite claims by the opposition and many Western governments that the vote was rigged.
The resolution "reiterates its non-recognition of the [2020] election of Alexander Lukashenko as President of Belarus; considers the current regime in Belarus to be illegitimate, illegal and criminal; reaffirms its unwavering support for the Belarusian people in their quest for democracy, freedom and human rights."
It also notes that more than 1.250 political prisoners are being held in detention in Belarus, many of whom face torture, life-threatening conditions and denial of medical care.
MEPs condemned "the lack of freedom, fairness and transparency ahead of the so-called presidential elections in Belarus and called on the EU, its member states and the international community to categorically reject the upcoming elections in Belarus and the previous campaign as fraudulent, as they do not meet minimum international standards for democratic elections."
Last week, the United States said voting in Belarus could not be free or fair because of a "repressive environment" in which only regime-approved candidates can appear on the ballot and members of the opposition are either imprisoned or in exile.
Long considered an outcast in Western Europe, Lukashenko launched a brutal crackdown on opponents and civil society after the 2020 vote, sparking a wave of international sanctions that have choked the country's economy.
Ahead of the vote, Lukashenko appears to want to signal to the West that he is easing the measures the state has imposed since the 2020 elections.
Yet the crackdown continues, with frequent arrests and trials on what activists say are politically motivated charges. At least 1.253 people considered political prisoners by human rights groups remain behind bars, and the real number is believed to be higher.
Lukashenko has closely aligned Belarus with Russia and supported Russia's war against neighboring Ukraine, allowing Russian forces to attack from Belarusian territory, and has acknowledged that Russian nuclear weapons are deployed in Belarus.
But during his more than 30 years in power, he often tried to exploit Belarus' position between Russia to the east and NATO and the European Union to the west and north.
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