Resolution 2587 (2025)1Provisional version

The urgent need for free and fair elections in Belarus

Parliamentary Assembly1. Free and fair elections constitute the very foundation of democratic government and a cornerstone ofrepresentative democracy. By electing representatives from among themselves to form governing bodies,citizens exercise their right to be represented in the political decision-making process. The right to vote and tostand for election is a fundamental human right, indispensable for the effective functioning of democracy, andfor the protection of individual freedoms and liberties.

2. The so-called presidential election organised in Belarus on the 26 January 2025 exemplifies the blatantcontempt of the regime of Aliaksandr Lukashenka for basic democratic norms and international law that hascharacterised the three decades of his rule.

3. This disregard for international law is made clear in Lukashenka regime’s participation in the RussianFederation’s large-scale aggression against Ukraine, a most serious violation of international law which ledthe Parliamentary Assembly to suspend all relations with the Belarusian authorities on the basis of its Opinion300 (2022) “Consequences of the Russian Federation's aggression against Ukraine”, and its continuedweaponisation of migrants as a tool for hybrid war against neighbouring States.

4. Since the fraudulent elections of 2020, the Lukashenka regime has systematically implementedmeasures that in their design and implementation have entirely eroded all vestiges of the key pillars ofdemocratic society in the country.

5. The Assembly refers to the assessment of the European Commission for Democracy through Law(Venice Commission) in its Opinion of 24 October 2022 that amendments to the Constitution adopted byreferendum in Belarus on 27 February 2022 provided no reasonable limitations on the term of office ofMr Lukashenka. It further refers to the Interim Opinion of the Venice Commission of 23 March 2021 thatassessed that ad hominem term-limit waivers for incumbent presidents violate international legal principles.

6. The Assembly reaffirms its consideration that any country that extends presidential term limits beyondthe usual two terms of four or five years constitutes a significant departure from democracy and the rule oflaw.

7. The Assembly recognises the invaluable role played by international election observers in providingcredible and reliable election assessments, and reaffirms that in a truly democratic system, internationalscrutiny, transparency and accountability shall be encouraged. The decision to neither invite electionobservers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to observe the 2024 so-calledparliamentary and local elections, nor the so-called presidential election of 2025 is in contradiction ofinternational commitments made by Belarus and is a further indication of the state of the democratic spaceand of civil and political rights and freedoms in Belarus.

8. The unprecedented number of politically motivated arrests, detentions, and the widespread intimidationof opposition figures, journalists, activists and human rights defenders has forced over 500 000 Belarusians toflee the country, many of whom face continued repressions via trials in absentia, the confiscation of property,the inability to renew identification documents, threats to family, and the abuse by Belarusian authorities of

1. Assembly debate on 30 January 2025 (7th sitting) (see Doc. 16105, report of the Committee on Political Affairs andDemocracy, rapporteur: Mr Ryszard Petru). Text adopted by the Assembly on 30 January 2025 (7th sitting).

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