Alexander Lukashenko, who has been in power in Belarus for 31 years, won 87.6 percent of the votes in the presidential elections, Belarusian state media reported, citing exit poll results. The vote is not considered democratic by the Belarusian opposition and the West.
Sunday was the main day of the vote organized by the regime, in which Lukashenko, who has been in power for 31 years, won a seventh term. The premises closed at 8 p.m. (6 p.m. in Poland).
According to information provided by the regime media, the remaining official candidates won between 1-3 percent of the votes. 5.1 percent of voters voted against all candidates – according to exit poll.
Alyaksandr Lukashenko at the polling station in MinskPAP/EPA/BELARUS PRESIDENT PRESS-SERVICE
The opposition and the West do not recognize the “sham” elections
The opposition calls this vote “no-election” because there were no real opponents and no chance for a democratic process.
Leader of the Belarusian opposition Swiatlana Tsikhanouskaya declared that neither Belarusians nor the international community recognize the results of Sunday's “elections”. European Parliament In a resolution, he called on the European Union and member states not to continue to recognize Lukashenko as president after “elections” that he considered “sham.”
Suppression of protests and political repression
The previous elections in 2020, despite the elimination through arrests and fake criminal cases of the main contenders on the opposition side – Siarhei Tsikhanouski and Viktar Babaryka (currently serving sentences) – became an opportunity to demonstrate a mass protest against Lukashenko.
Then, according to experts, the Belarusian leader, not appreciating the scale of public dissatisfaction, allowed Tsikhanouskaya to run for office. The propaganda called her a “housewife” and a “cutlet fairy”, trying to ridicule her in the eyes of voters. Despite this, according to the opposition and independent counts (the actual results were never revealed), it was Tsikhanouskaya who won the elections. After Lukashenko was declared the winner with a score of 81 percent, Belarusians took to the streets en masse.
Brutal suppression of protests and violent waves of political repression that were unprecedented even for Belarusled to the destruction or emigration of the political opposition, media, organizations and social activists, and sent thousands of people to prison. After five years, according to defenders human rightsthe repression continues and there are currently 1,256 people in prison “for politics” (which, however, is not the full number).
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After the campaign and brutal repression of 2020, Western countries decided not to recognize the officially announced election results, and Lukashenko has not been recognized as the rightful head of state since then. The West maintains contacts with the Belarusian opposition in exile, but its real influence and impact on the situation in Belarus are negligible.
Main photo source: PAP/EPA/BELARUS PRESIDENT PRESS-SERVICE