Statement of the Belarusian National Youth Council “RADA” on the Non-recognition of the Results of the 2025 Presidential Elections in Belarus

Statement of the Belarusian National Youth Council “RADA” on the Non-recognition of the Results of the 2025 Presidential Elections in Belarus

On January 26, 2025, the presidential elections in the Republic of Belarus took place, in which 70-year-old Aliaksandr Lukashenka was re-elected for a seventh term, receiving 86.82% of the votes according to the Central Election Commission of Belarus. The election campaign was accompanied by numerous human rights violations: only pro-government candidates were allowed to participate; Belarusians abroad were unable to vote without going to Belarus that would expose them to political persecution. Voting booths at polling stations were transparent, which contradicted the principles of secret voting, and it was prohibited to photograph ballots. Due to the political repression against journalists, which has been ongoing for the fifth year, independent media outlets have been unable to cover the election campaign events in Belarus.

The Belarusian National Youth Council “RADA” expresses an objection regarding the results of the presidential elections held in Belarus. We declare that we do not recognize the victory of Aliaksandr Lukashenka, as announced by the Central Election Commission, and consider the declared election results to be falsified.

The 2025 elections took place in an environment of complete disregard of democratic standards and violations of basic citizens’ rights to freely express their will. The collection of signatures, the pre-election campaign, and the voting process itself were carried out under pressure and control by government structures.

We are grateful to the international community, which has sincerely assessed the results of these elections, first and foremost the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas and the European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighborhood Policy Marta Kos. We are pleased to see the solidarity in the joint statement of the European Union, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. We hope that the number of such assessments of the elections will only increase.

At the same time, we stress that election falsifications have never affected our determination and work and this election campaign is no exception. We, the Belarusian National Youth Council “RADA”, continue to implement our projects, support youth and assist civil society. Despite all the difficulties, we continue our work and will keep doing so in the future.

At this moment we call on the international community to:

  • Not recognize the results of the election, which took place with obvious violations of international standards;
  • React immediately and appropriately to falsifications and human rights violations to release all political prisoners and create conditions for the conduct of new democratic elections;
  • Support Belarusian civil initiatives, independent media, and youth organizations that operate in difficult conditions of repression.