- Belarus held vibrant elections during the weekend in which the opposition and the European Union rejected a farce, expanding the authoritarian president Alexander Lukashenko, who is more than three decades in power.
- The Belarus 2020 elections, which the defectors also called, have sparked months of unprecedented protests in the country.
- Lukashenko has been in power since 1994 and relied on political support and support from Russian President Vladimir Putin, who also helped him to survive the 2020 protests.
Representative Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko More than three decades in power in the weekend elections that were organized and the opposition and the European Union rejected a farce.
The Central Elections Committee announced early on Monday that Lukashenko won the elections by about 87 % of the votes after a campaign in which four symbolic competitors praised his rule.
Members of the country's political opposition, many of whom are being imprisoned or exiled abroad by the Lukashenko campaign that does not soften the opposition and freedom of expression, described the elections as a country of 9 million people.
Since then, more than 65,000 people have been arrested and thousands have been hit, with the repression that brings condemnation and sanctions from the West.
The European Union rejected a vote on Sunday as new illegal and threatened sanctions.
German Foreign Minister Analeina Perpuk said that the elections did not provide any choice for voters, which represents “a bitter day for all those who yearn for freedom and democracy.”
She said in a post on X.
Lukashenko has been in power since 1994 and ruled the country with an iron fist. He relied on political support and support from Russian President Vladimir PutinHe is in his position for a quarter of a century, a relationship that helped him survive the 2020 protests.
Lukashenko allowed Moscow to use the country to invade Ukraine in 2022 and later hosted some Russian tactical nuclear weapons.
On Monday, Putin Lucashinko called on his “convincing victory.” Chinese President Xi Jinping also sent congratulations.
Some observers believe that Lukashenko is afraid to repeat these mass demonstrations amid economic problems and fighting in Ukraine, and so the vote was determined in January, when few want to fill the streets again, instead of keeping them in August.
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The prominent opponents escaped abroad or were thrown into prison. Activists say that the country has approximately 1,300 political prisoners, including Nobel Peace Prize winners, the founder of the Human Rights Center, Viasna.
Since July, Lukashenko has received more than 250 people. At the same time, the authorities have sought to uproot the opposition by arresting hundreds in raids targeting relatives and friends of political prisoners.
Sviatlaana Tsikhanouskaya exile leader, opposition leader, Who escaped from Belarus Under the pressure of the government after the Lukashenko challenge in 2020, he condemned the elections as a “meaningless farce” and urged the voters to cross every person listed in the poll.