Longtime Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko has been declared the winner of a disputed presidential election, securing a seventh consecutive term. The Central Election Commission reported that Lukashenko garnered 86.8% of the vote, with a reported voter turnout of 85.7%.
The four candidates running against him were all loyal to Lukashenko, with no serious opposition candidates challenging his rule. Despite widespread accusations of electoral fraud and claims of a “sham” election from both local and international critics, the Belarusian leader’s victory was swiftly confirmed.
Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Lukashenko, praising the “undoubted” support of the Belarusian people, and reaffirmed the strong political ties between the two nations, especially as the war in Ukraine has strengthened Belarus’s alignment with Russia.
Chinese President Xi Jinping also offered congratulations, underscoring the continued international support for Lukashenko’s regime. However, the legitimacy of the election remains contested by Western governments and human rights groups.
“Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory message to Lukashenko on his re-election as President of Belarus,” state news agency Xinhua said.
‘No choice’
Other politicians, especially those in Europe, said the vote was neither free nor fair because independent media were banned in the country and all leading opposition figures had either been jailed or forced to seek exile abroad.
“The people of Belarus had no choice. It is a bitter day for all those who long for freedom and democracy,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock posted on X.
“Over 1,200 people in Belarus remain innocently imprisoned simply because they had the courage to speak out.”
The country’s last presidential election in 2020 ended with nationwide protests, unprecedented in the history of the country of nine million people. The opposition and Western nations accused Lukashenko of rigging the election and imposed sanctions.
In response, his government launched a sweeping crackdown, leaving more than 1,000 people imprisoned, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Ales Bialiatski, founder of the Viasna Human Rights Centre.
Asked about the jailing of his opponents, Lukashenko told a news conference on Sunday that they had chosen their own fate.
“Some chose prison, some chose exile, as you say. We didn’t kick anyone out of the country,” he told a rambling news conference that lasted more than four hours.
Exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya told the Reuters news agency Lukashenko engineered his re-election as part of a “ritual for dictators.”
