The EU rejects the election in Belarus and threatens new sanctions – WKMG News 6 & Clickerlando

Brussels – The European Union rejected the elections in Belarus on Sunday as illegitimate and threatened new sanctions.

Belarus held an orchestrated vote in practice guaranteed to give the 70-year-old autocrats Alexander Lukashenko another term at the top of his three decades in power.

“Today’s counterfeit elections in Belarus were neither free nor fair,” said EU foreign policy chief Kaya Calas and EU enlargement commissioner Martha Kos in a joint statement.

“The ruthless and unprecedented repression of human rights, the restrictions of political participation and access to independent media in Belarus have deprived the election process of all legitimacy,” said Calas and Kos.

They called on the Belarusian government to release political prisoners, evaluating its number to more than 1000, including an EU delegation employee in the capital of Belarus, Minsk.

Kalas and COS said the decision to invite the observers of the Security and Cooperation Organization in Europe just 10 days ago prevented the group from monitoring the full electoral process.

“For these reasons, as well as the participation of the Belarusian regime in Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and its hybrid attacks against its neighbors, the EU will continue to impose restrictive and targeted measures against the Belarusian government, EU staff said.

They have not developed what possible new sanctions will be directed or providing a time frame.

Callas and some EU foreign ministers are expected to meet with opposition opposition leader Svialana Cihanukaya on Sunday night in Brussels for an informal closed -door dinner.