BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

15/01/2007

EU Commission says Belarus local elections failed to meet democratic standards

The Associated Press

BRUSSELS, Belgium: Local elections in Belarus failed to meet democratic standards, the European Commission said Monday.

EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said there was "a blatant lack of democratic pluralism" in the weekend elections.

Opposition leaders said the elections took place under tight official control, predicting widespread falsification.

The EU has been fiercely critical of the hard-line rule of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. On Monday, it decried the restrictive rules on campaigning and the intimidation of opposition candidates.

"These elections therefore failed to give Belarusian voters a genuine choice," Ferrero-Waldner said.

Source:

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/01/15/europe/EU-GEN-EU-Belarus.php