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Marieluise Beck: Lukashenka Held Elections With Zero Option

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Marieluise Beck: Lukashenka Held Elections With Zero Option
MARIELUISE BECK

The electoral campaign in Belarus was called “elections with zero option” by German Bundestag MP Marieluise Beck.

Her comment was published by the press-service of the parliamentary group of the Greens, BelaPAN informs.

“At the 21st year of his authoritarian rule Aliaksandr Lukashenka has held elections with zero option again,” said the deputy of Bundestag Marieluise Beck, who visited Minsk as an observer of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

According to her, there were fewer representatives of the opposition in the electoral commissions in comparison with the previous elections, and the possibility of early voting for a few days opened the door to manipulation. Besides it was almost impossible to monitor the procedure of vote counting.

Moreover, the MP of the German Bundestag stressed, that despite the severe economic crisis, Lukashenka could hardly expect serious resistance. "This time there was no need for crackdown on opponents, as the opposition had not yet recovered from the brutal wave of repressions after the presidential elections in 2010. Even before the elections its leaders were in prison or abroad. In addition, the population fears the Kremlin will react to the democratic aspirations in the same way as to Euromaidan in Ukraine. People shrank into themselves”, – said Beck.

According to her, when considering the adjustment of EU policy towards Belarus after the release of the last political prisoners, one shouldn’t forget that the situation with democracy and human rights remains poor. "The current Lukashenka’s turn to the West is not a signal of democratic changes. This is largely the effect of severe political and economic crisis, in which the country finds itself after 21 years of stagnation. The support of the country and its independence should take place simultaneously with the involvement of the civil society and expansion of democratic freedoms, "- said Marieluise Beck.

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