IDU Resolution on Belarus
Resolution tabled by the United Civic Party, Belarus at the IDU Executive Meeting, December 6th, 2024, in Washington, D.C.
Resolution on Belarus
WHEREAS the International Democracy Union (IDU) condemns the Belarusian regime’s attempts to organize a rigged presidential election on January 26th, 2025, after undermining the democratic rule of the Belarusian people in 2020 and suppressing the peaceful protests that followed.
WHEREAS the authorities have been conducting a campaign of arrests directed at opposition figures. There are currently at least 1,300 political prisoners, among them Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Ales Bialacki, leaders of the key political parties Mikalai Kazlou (United Civil Party), Pavel Sieviaryniec (Christian Democrats), and Mikalai Statkevich (Social Democrats), with many others forced into exile.
WHEREAS there is no institutional framework for conducting free and fair elections, with all opposition parties, independent unions, and civil society organizations dismantled and independent media banned. There are also no means for secure ballot-keeping and transparent counting, with the identities of all election commission members being classified and no independent observers allowed.
THEREFORE the IDU adopts the following measures:
1. Calls on the international democratic community to not recognize the current campaign in Belarus as a valid “election” and to refuse to acknowledge Alexander Lukashenko’s legitimacy as President after January 26th, 2025.
2. Reiterates its demands that the Belarusian regime implement free and fair elections, release all political prisoners, end repression, hold the perpetrators accountable, and cease its support for the Russian war against Ukraine.
3. Calls for increased pressure on the regime by strengthening current sanctions, closing loopholes, and considering approving a new sanctions package for the continued repression and incoming electoral fraud.
4. Declares its continued support of and coordination with the Belarusian democratic forces led by President-elect Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya.
5. States that the Lukashenko regime should not be allowed to “turn the page” without accountability and while continuing its massive human rights violations; acknowledges that coordinated efforts are needed to keep Belarus on the path towards democratization.