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Poland will not recognize Belarus presidential election: upper-house Speaker

09.01.2025 23:45
Poland will not recognize Belarus’ upcoming presidential election, scheduled for January 26, upper-house Speaker Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska said on Thursday.
Polish upper-house Speaker Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska (right) and Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya (left) hold a joint news conference in Warsaw on Thursday.
Polish upper-house Speaker Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska (right) and Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya (left) hold a joint news conference in Warsaw on Thursday.Photo: PAP/Paweł Supernak

She made the statement after meeting in Warsaw with Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who is visiting Poland.

Kidawa-Błońska called the planned election a "sham," and added that elections cannot be considered free when political opponents are jailed for seeking democracy.

She said she hopes parliaments in other European countries will also refuse to recognize the vote.

She emphasized the need to hold Belarusian strongman leader Alexander Lukashenko accountable for human rights abuses, insisting he must face consequences for his actions.

Tsikhanouskaya thanked Poland for its continued support and noted that Poland has made Belarus a priority during its presidency of the Council of the European Union in the first half of 2025.

She welcomed the Polish parliament’s commitment to rejecting the January 26 election as a "farce" and expressed confidence that one day Belarus will join Poland as a free and independent member of the EU.

During her visit, Tsikhanouskaya met with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, European Affairs Minister Adam Szłapka, and lower-house Speaker Szymon Hołownia.

On Thursday, she also held talks with Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski and met with President Andrzej Duda.

Earlier, she addressed a joint session of parliamentary foreign affairs committees, where she urged Poland’s parliament to formally reject the Belarusian vote.

Lukashenko has ruled Belarus since 1994, never relinquishing power. The previous presidential election in 2020 triggered the largest protests in the country’s history after the official results gave Lukashenko 80.1 percent of the vote and Tsikhanouskaya 10.1 percent.

The opposition dismissed the outcome as fraudulent.

Tsikhanouskaya entered the race after her husband, Siarhei Tsikhanouski, had been jailed for announcing his candidacy. He has since been tried and sentenced to 18 years in prison.

Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. Photo: PAP/Marcin Obara

Following the 2020 election, authorities forced Tsikhanouskaya into exile, while violently cracking down on mass demonstrations demanding a democratic vote.

In December 2020, the European Parliament recognized Tsikhanouski's work towards a democratic Belarus with the Sakharov Prize – given to individuals or groups who have dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedom of thought. 

(rt/gs)

Source: IAR, PAP