Kimmo Kiljunen and Eva Biaudet: 2025 Presidential Election in Belarus – Nothing but a Charade!
In Belarus, elections will again be held in undemocratic conditions and Alyaksandr Lukashenka will claim victory in the presidential election for the seventh time on 26 January 2025. The elections are merely a charade, as the Lukashenka regime has for years restricted citizens' fundamental rights, suppressed opposition and crushed independent media, say Kimmo Kiljunen (Social Democrats) and Eva Biaudet (Swedish People’s Party), the Chair and Vice-Chair respectively of the “For a Democratic Belarus” Group.
The state of democracy in Belarus has drastically deteriorated since the 2020 presidential election. The falsified results led to a popular uprising, which was violently repressed. All demonstrations have been silenced, independent non-governmental organisations dismantled, and opposition imprisoned or forced to leave the country. It is currently estimated that there are 1,300 political prisoners unjustly detained and kept in inhumane conditions in Belarus.
In addition to internal turmoil, Lukashenka’s foreign policy has involved the country in Russia’s criminal war against Ukraine by allowing Belarusian territory to be used by Russian forces and military equipment and weaponry.
Members of Parliament Kiljunen and Biaudet state that, similar to the last year’s parliamentary and local elections, the upcoming 2025 presidential election will also be held under Lukashenka’s authoritarian rule in conditions where civil society and dissenting voices are silenced. Thus, the predetermined election result cannot be recognised as legitimate.
The MPs encourage members of the opposition and civil society to continue their steadfast work for a just and democratic Belarus. They emphasise that these efforts have the unwavering support of Finns.
The “For a Democratic Belarus” Group demands that Belarus must respect its citizens’ fundamental rights and political freedoms, conduct free and fair elections, and ensure a subsequent peaceful transfer of power.
