The obscenity of authoritarian governments that rig elections and dare to call them democratic!
Belarus’s opposition has issued a message of defiance, rejecting the results of a presidential election marred by vote-rigging as the country braced for a second night of protests against President Alexander Lukashenko.
“I will believe my own eyes – the majority was for us,” Svetlana Tikhanovskaya told reporters in the capital, Minsk, on Monday, after widespread reports of vote-tampering in Sunday’s election.
Tikhanovskaya said she considered herself the winner, not Lukashenko, and described the election as massively rigged. “The authorities should think about how to peacefully hand over power to us,” she said. “I consider myself the winner of this election.”
Her aides said the opposition wanted a vote recount at polling stations where there were reports of vote tampering. They also said the opposition wanted to hold talks with authorities about how to bring about a peaceful change of power.
Lukashenko, who is facing the deepest crisis of his 26 years in power, has threatened to crush any illegal rallies. He claimed that the protests were being directed from abroad, singling out Poland, Britain, and the Czech Republic.
Tikhanovskaya has stopped short of joining street protests and her team released a statement on Monday evening saying they feared her appearance could lead to “provocations”.
But the harrowing scenes of violence on the streets of Minsk and dozens more Belarusian cities are expected to bring more people on to the streets on Monday evening, with rallies anticipated to begin at 7pm.
[...]
The country’s election commission reported late on Monday that Lukashenko had won 80.08% of the vote while Tikhanovskaya took just 10.09%, despite a popular wave of support for the opposition candidate, whose political rallies have drawn some of the country’s largest crowds since the days of the Soviet Union.
Similar, preliminary results released on Sunday prompted unprecedented protests in cities across the country, posing the greatest threat to Lukashenko – often referred to as Europe’s last dictator – since he came to power. Foreign observers have not declared a Belarusian election free and fair since 1995.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...aya-lukashenko
Belarus’s opposition has issued a message of defiance, rejecting the results of a presidential election marred by vote-rigging as the country braced for a second night of protests against President Alexander Lukashenko.
“I will believe my own eyes – the majority was for us,” Svetlana Tikhanovskaya told reporters in the capital, Minsk, on Monday, after widespread reports of vote-tampering in Sunday’s election.
Tikhanovskaya said she considered herself the winner, not Lukashenko, and described the election as massively rigged. “The authorities should think about how to peacefully hand over power to us,” she said. “I consider myself the winner of this election.”
Her aides said the opposition wanted a vote recount at polling stations where there were reports of vote tampering. They also said the opposition wanted to hold talks with authorities about how to bring about a peaceful change of power.
Lukashenko, who is facing the deepest crisis of his 26 years in power, has threatened to crush any illegal rallies. He claimed that the protests were being directed from abroad, singling out Poland, Britain, and the Czech Republic.
Tikhanovskaya has stopped short of joining street protests and her team released a statement on Monday evening saying they feared her appearance could lead to “provocations”.
But the harrowing scenes of violence on the streets of Minsk and dozens more Belarusian cities are expected to bring more people on to the streets on Monday evening, with rallies anticipated to begin at 7pm.
[...]
The country’s election commission reported late on Monday that Lukashenko had won 80.08% of the vote while Tikhanovskaya took just 10.09%, despite a popular wave of support for the opposition candidate, whose political rallies have drawn some of the country’s largest crowds since the days of the Soviet Union.
Similar, preliminary results released on Sunday prompted unprecedented protests in cities across the country, posing the greatest threat to Lukashenko – often referred to as Europe’s last dictator – since he came to power. Foreign observers have not declared a Belarusian election free and fair since 1995.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...aya-lukashenko
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