The European Parliament adopted a resolution on the situation in Belarus. 574 parliamentarians voted for the document, 37 were against, 82 abstained.

Among other things, the resolution states that the European Parliament:

• does not recognize the results of the presidential elections in Belarus on August 9, as a result of which Alexander Lukashenko was declared the head of state;
• condemns the Belarusian authorities for violent dispersal of peaceful protest rallies, persecution of opposition activists and strikers at enterprises;
• demands an end to torture and violence in the country and calls for an independent investigation into the deaths of peaceful demonstrators;
• supports the peaceful transfer of power in the country and recognizes the Coordination Council of the Belarusian opposition as “a temporary representation of people demanding democratic changes”;
• supports personal EU sanctions against those responsible for electoral fraud, including Alexander Lukashenko;
• condemns the hybrid interference of the Russian Federation in the internal affairs of Belarus; 
• calls for studying the possibility of including Russian citizens directly involved in supporting the Lukashenka regime in the sanctions lists.

The resolution is of a recommendatory nature and is not binding on the EU institutions, but serves as a political guideline for them.

According to the Belarusian CEC, Alexander Lukashenko won the presidential election on August 9 for the sixth time, gaining 80% of the vote. The united opposition, led by presidential candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, did not recognize the voting results. Protest actions have been going on in the country for more than a month, and an opposition Coordination Council for the peaceful transfer of power in the country was created. In response, the Investigative Committee of Belarus opened a criminal case on calls to seize power.

(C)MEDUZA 2020