Election Criticism Could Harm EU Ties

Belarusians went to the polls for a parliamentary election on September 28. In encouraging signs of liberalisation, the country released its remaining prisoners classified as 'political' by the EU prior to the vote and allowed 70 opposition candidates to compete for the 110 seats. However, OSCE monitors criticised various aspects of the election in their September 29 report, concluding that despite minor improvements, it ultimately fell short of democratic standards. Both the EU and US had made improved ties and the lifting of sanctions contingent on a free and fair election, while Minsk had stressed that it will sever ties

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