"We, as friends of the Belarusian people and supporters of
the sovereignty and independence of Belarus, welcome the
progress achieved in our relations over the past few years.
We have seen many positive developments between our
countries and Belarus: the signing of the Visa
Facilitation and Readmission Agreements with the EU and the
doubling of its financial support; the decision to resume
relations with the United States at ambassadorial level,
the visit of the Secretary of State to Minsk, and the first
shipment of U.S. oil; the increasing political dialogue
with the EU and with its Member States bilaterally (e.g.
visits at Presidential or PM level to EU Member States) or
in the framework of the Eastern Partnership; the Commercial
Dialogue with the UK; and the opening up of EIB and EBRD
for loans. We reaffirm our commitment to continue this
positive engagement with Belarus on the basis of shared
values.
As Belarus begins the process of selecting its president,
we urge the Belarusian authorities to take the measures
necessary to hold a safe, peaceful, free and fair election
and to ensure fundamental freedoms.
We expect Belarus to invite officially OSCE/ODIHR observers
in due time and urge the Belarusian authorities to
demonstrate in deeds its willingness to make progress in
the implementation of the recommendations of the previous
OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Reports.
Noting in particular that the process of registration of
candidates should be fair and transparent, we emphasize
that no politically motivated restrictive measures should
prevent potential candidates fulfilling the registration
procedure.
Given that the elections are taking place in the context of
the COVID-19 crisis, we strongly recommend the Belarusian
authorities adopt the World Health Organization’s
recommendations of physical distancing to minimize the
COVID-19 threat in a way which allows all candidates an
equal chance to campaign and inform voters about what they
stand for.
We also recall that a genuinely pluralistic composition of
election commissions is key to promoting confidence in the
election administration.
Media freedom and the right of peaceful assembly are
essential to legitimate elections. Journalists must be
able to report freely and unhindered. Citizens must be
allowed to peacefully express their opinions. This is why
we are also concerned regarding the recent detentions of
peaceful protesters and imprisonments of journalists.
We recall that tangible steps taken by Belarus to respect
universal fundamental freedoms, rule of law and human
rights will remain key for the shaping of our future policy
towards Belarus. A safe, peaceful, free and fair election,
untainted by malign external influence and respecting
fundamental freedoms, will foster democratic development in
Belarus, reinforce its sovereignty and independence, and
pave the way for greater cooperation with our countries and
economic prosperity for the Belarusian people."
