Credit:  europe-diplomatic.eu/  Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko, President of Belarus

By Gary Raynaldo      DIPLOMATIC  TIMES

European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell sharply criticized  Sunday’s presidential elections in Belarus for the  “disproportionate and unacceptable state violence against peaceful protesters”.  According to a preliminary count, longtime incumbent President Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko won 80.23% of the vote, with main rival challenger Svetlana Tikhanovskaya receiving 9.9%.   Critics  immediately denounced Lukashenko’s landslide victory as being rigged and mass protests erupted with thousands taking to the streets of capital city Minsk and across the country to vent frustration.  Opposition candidate Tikhanovskaya and political observers claimed the voting results were fraudulent. 

“The election night was marred with disproportionate and unacceptable state violence against peaceful protesters. This reportedly resulted in the loss of life of one citizen and many others have been injured. We condemn the violence and call for the immediate release of all detained during last night. Following their unprecedented mobilisation for free elections and democracy, the Belarusian people now expect their votes to be counted accurately. It is essential that the Central Electoral Commission publishes the results reflecting the choice of the Belarusian people.”

-European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell

Last week, the EU appealed to the Belarusian authorities to guarantee the exercise of full political rights of the candidates, to avoid using force against peaceful protesters, and immediately release all activists, human rights defenders, bloggers and journalists detained on political grounds.  Borrell said the  EU will continue to closely follow the developments in order to assess how to further shape the EU’s response and relations with Belarus in view of the developing situation, and  that  the bloc remains committed to strengthening its engagement with the Belarusian people. 

Belarus Opposition Challenger  Tikhanovskaya Rejects Election Results 

Credit: Wikipedia /  Belarus Opposition challenger Svetlana Tikhanovskaya 

Tikhanovskaya told a press conference Monday morning that the vote had seen massive fraud and that she was the winner of the election.

“We don’t recognize the results of the election. We have seen the real ballot results. We call on those who believe that their vote has been stolen not to keep silent.”

Tikhanovskaya said.

Alexander  Lukashenko:   ‘Europe’s Last Dictator’

“For the past 26 years, Belarus has been the personal fiefdom of Alexander Lukashenko. Often referred to as Europe’s last dictator, Lukashenko has maintained a tight grip on power by retaining much from the country’s Soviet past,”  Anders Åslund   in  The Atlantic Council wrote.

“Lukashenko has maintained political power ever since through strong state control of the economy, control over the media, and as much repression as the situation has demanded. He is accused of at least four political murders and has imprisoned dozens of political opponents, but repression has been relatively limited in scope.”

-Anders Åslund   in  The Atlantic Council wrote.