Lukashenko's disputed victory sparks global condemnation
According to the AFP agency, Alexander Lukashenko received 87.6 percent of the votes in the presidential election. These results are from the state exit poll. Sunday's election is not considered democratic by the Belarusian opposition and the West. Previous polls have also faced heavy criticism on the international stage. "The situation is clear for us. We consider the elections of August 9 fraudulent. We don’t recognise Lukashenko as the legitimate president of Belarus," said EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell in a statement issued on behalf of the EU, highlighting the "falsified results" of the election on August 9, 2020.
The election was held without genuine independent candidates running against Lukashenko, a free press, and was marked by governmental repression, including actions against the families of opposition members.
It's important to note that the opposition refers to them as "non-elections" due to the absence of real opponents and the lack of a democratic process. Besides Lukashenko, five candidates participated, although they all played a puppet role in the process.
Lukashenko has been in power in Belarus without interruption for 31 years. Before Sunday's "election," he was confident of securing another victory.
Harsh reaction from Tsikhanouskaya
"If the dictator thought his sham 'elections' would give him legitimacy, he was very wrong. The democratic world stands united in rejecting this farce and supporting Belarusians in our call for freedom. These are not elections but a 'special operation' to illegally cling to power. Lukashenka, propped up by Putin, holds 9 million Belarusians hostage, drags us into war, and betrays our sovereignty. We will never accept him. He does not represent Belarus. The regime must end its repressions, release political prisoners, and be held accountable for its crimes. Belarusians will prevail!" wrote Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya.
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