The Presidential Election in Belarus

That the Parliament condemns the recent Belarussian presidential election, which took place on 26 January 2025, and which it believes to be a sham; notes reports that no independent observers monitored the vote in Belarus, which, it understands, has also shut down all of its independent media; highlights that the Central Election Commission declared incumbent President Lukashenko the winner with nearly 87% of the vote, in an election where, it believes, all credible opposition figures were either jailed or exiled; expresses concern at reports that the pro-Russian Belarusian regime under President Lukashenko routinely persecutes people who stand up for democracy, the rule of law and human rights, as well as marginalised groups; notes that Alexander Lukashenko has been in power since 1994 and is often referred to as "Europe's Last Dictator"; believes that Lukashenko made his country a launchpad for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s full-scale illegal invasion of Ukraine; recognises the work of the Liberco Partnership for Human Rights in raising awareness of the Belarussian political prisoners that it considers are languishing in Lukashenko’s jails; acknowledges that the exiled opposition leader, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who claimed victory in the 2020 election in which she stood in place of her jailed husband, reportedly dismissed the recent election as fraudulent; believes that this ongoing situation is an affront to democracy, and urges the international community to support the people of Belarus in their fight for democracy and human rights