The European Parliament announced that they would stop recognizing Alexander Lukashenko as President of Belarus from November 5. This is stated in the resolution of the representative body of the European Union, adopted on September 17.
“When <...> the term of office of the current authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko expires, the parliament will no longer recognize him as the country’s president,” RIA Novosti quotes the document.
In addition, the European Parliament recognized the coordination council of the Belarusian opposition as a “temporary representative of the people” and called for new elections in the republic.
The MPs offered to support the EU sanctions on Belarus, including against the President of the Republic Alexander Lukashenko, and called on the EU countries to take measures against those involved in election fraud and violence in Belarus.
The European Parliament adopted the resolution on 17 September. In it, the MEPs called on to freeze any transfers of funds to Minsk and to stop issuing loans by the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
On September 15, the EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy Josep Borrell said that the European Union does not recognize Alexander Lukashenko as the legitimate President of Belarus and believes that the election of the head of the republic was accompanied by fraud.
The presidential elections in Belarus were held on August 9. From that moment on, protests by the opposition, disagreeing with the results, have continued in the country. According to the CEC, Alexander Lukashenko won with 80.1% of the vote.
Opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya refused to acknowledge the election results and called on the international community to support the demonstrators. The EU and the USA considered Lukashenko illegitimate. Until September 24, European countries plan to impose sanctions against Minsk.