General documents - Joint statement on the parliamentary and local “elections” held in Belarus on 25 February 2024 - Delegation for relations with Belarus

Joint statement by:

• the Chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, MEP David McALLISTER
• the Chair of the Delegation for relations with Belarus, MEP Juozas OLEKAS, and
• the European Parliament's Standing Rapporteur on Belarus, MEP Petras AUŠTREVIČIUS

on the parliamentary and local "elections" held in Belarus on 25 February 2024

Brussels, 26 February 2024 - "On Sunday 25 February, so called parliamentary and local "elections" were held in Belarus, the first elections since the fraudulent 2020 presidential ballot that triggered an unprecedented wave of mass protests around the country.

We have been following closely the developments preceding the parliamentary and the local "elections" held on 25 February.

We regret that the "elections" took place without the participation of independent local or international observers such as an OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) observation mission.

It is clear that elections held in current restrictive and repressive environment impeded Belarusian citizens to exercise their fundamental right to cast a free and unbiased vote for a candidate of their choice. The "election" process failed to meet basic democratic standards. [...]