Belarus

Germany, France and Poland urge for free and fair election in Belarus

cde.news desk 7 August 2020, 18:45 · 1 min read

A man walks past a part of the list with portraits of Presidential candidates, current Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko (L) and Belarusian opposition presidential candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya (R) at a polling station during pre-term voting at the embassy of Belarus in Moscow, Russia. The presidential election in Belarus is scheduled to take place on 09 August 2020. EPA-EFE/MAXIM SHIPENKOV

Germany, France and Poland are observing developments in Belarus with “great concern” ahead of the presidential vote this weekend, they said in a joint statement on Friday, urging authorities to conduct the election in a free and fair manner.

Thousands of opposition supporters had rallied in Minsk on Thursday, defying a crackdown by Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko’s government ahead of the election.

He is facing the biggest challenge in years to his rule and accuses protesters of being in cahoots with foreign backers to destabilise the country.