BNR Council: “Presidential Elections” In Belarus Were Not Democratic

The “elections” held on October 11 could not be considered a fair and democratic expression of the will of the Belarusian nation, and their results carry no legal weight.

It is written in the statement of the Council of the Belarusian People’s Republic, Kynica reports.

The BNR Council draws attention to the fact that there were no equal conditions for the election campaign running. During the election campaign national state-run mass-media performed propaganda tasks in favor of the candidate Aliaksandr Lukashenka, the statement reads.

The statement stresses that the society in Belarus had no control over the Central Election Commission, as well as local ones; the procedure of vote counting was not transparent enough for observers, whilst the elections were held in the climate of pressure on political and public organizations and independent mass media, in the absence of any democratic political process in the country.

The BNR Council notes that the release of political prisoners on the eve of the presidential elections could be considered as the first step towards normalization of the political atmosphere in Belarus.

The statement draws a conclusion that Aliaksandr Lukashenka, who, according to the official results has been declared the winner of these elections, is not a legitimately elected president of Belarus.

The BNR Council calls the authorities of Belarus to ensure democratic rights and freedoms for the citizens of Belarus, to create preconditions for holding real free and fair elections in Belarus, and after that to conduct democratic re-election of state and local public authorities in accordance with national legislation and international standards.