Putin wants to cooperate

“Election” in Belarus: Orban blocks the EU again

Once again, Viktor Orbán is causing head-shaking in the international community.

(Bild: APA Österreich Bild/AFP/FREDERICK FLORIN)

After ruler Alexander Lukashenko was voted into a seventh term of office in Belarus on Sunday, the EU is once again struggling to find a common position on the events. And once again it is Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán who is single-handedly blocking a declaration by the international community.

Sources in Brussels told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) that the Belarusian election, in which Lukashenko's re-election was a foregone conclusion, should have been classified as undemocratic in the context of a declaration - but Hungarian representatives blocked the joint declaration by the EU member states.

Even Slovakia finally agreed
According to RFE/RL, Hungary initially received backing from Slovakia for the declaration. However, Slovakia later agreed to support the text, which described the elections as illegitimate due to the "relentless and unprecedented repression of human rights" and severe restrictions on the opposition and independent media.

Did the people of Belarus really have the "choice"? International observers do not see this as the case with the vote for Lukashenko.

(Bild: AFP)

However, the Hungarian authorities under the leadership of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stood by their rejection. Hungary has always opposed tougher sanctions against Russia and increased European support for Ukraine.

Election was "neither free nor fair"
As there was no unanimous support from all 27 EU countries, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas issued her own statement in which she described the election on January 26 as "neither free nor fair". She also called on the Belarusian authorities to release all political prisoners, "more than a thousand of whom have been arbitrarily detained, including a member of the European Union delegation".

Kallas criticized the regime's late invitation to independent election observers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), just 10 days before the election, which prevented access to crucial stages of the electoral process. "This is further proof of the complete lack of credibility of these elections," she said.

Putin speaks of "convincing victory"
 Meanwhile, Russian head of state Vladimir Putin is - hardly surprisingly - still on Lukashenko's side. He congratulated him on a "convincing victory" and wanted to further expand Russian-Belarusian cooperation, Putin wrote. Lukashenko (70) has ruled Belarus as a dictator for more than 30 years. He has tied the ex-Soviet republic ever closer to Russia - especially since he almost lost power in mass protests in 2020.

After Sunday's vote, the electoral administration in Minsk credited him with an alleged 86.82 percent of the vote, more than ever before. Lukashenko announced on Sunday that his first trip would take him back to Russia.