Special Report: Worldwide reactions on election result in Belarus

    BRUSSELS, March 22 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) said Wednesday it will consider restrictive measures against those responsible for what the EU says "fundamentally flawed" presidential elections over the weekend.

    The EU agreed with the assessment by the observers of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) that the Belarus poll "failed to meet OSCE commitments for democratic elections", Austria, which holds the rotating EU presidency, said in a statement on behalf of the EU.

    The 25-nation bloc "deplores what the OSCE observers see as thearbitrary use of state power, the absence of a level playing field" and other problems with voting and tabulation process, it said.

    "The European Union will look into restrictive measures against those responsible for the violations of international electoral standards," the statement said, adding that the bloc will closely coordinate with its international partners, especially the United States.

    The EU also called on the Belarusian authorities to release members of the opposition and called on Belarus' other neighbors to follow the same approach.

    According to the final results from the Central Election Commission in Minsk, the incumbent Belarus president, Alexander Lukashenka, has won a third term in office with 82.6 percent of all votes in the 19 March election. His main opponent, Alexander Milinkevich, gained only 6 percent of the votes.

    The opposition claimed that the result was rigged and called for the election to be annulled.

    However, monitors from the Commonwealth of Independent States, a grouping of former Soviet states, said the vote was open and honest. Enditem