Post by Admin on Aug 17, 2020 19:16:42 GMT
The main challenger in Belarus’s disputed election called on President Alexander Lukashenko to give up power on Monday after a fierce police crackdown on protesters saw dozens wounded and hundreds detained.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, whose surprise candidacy is posing the biggest challenge to the veteran leader in years, said Sunday’s presidential vote had been rigged and accused authorities of resorting to force to hold on to power.
“The voters made their choice but the authorities did not hear us, they have broken with the people,” Tsikhanouskaya told a news conference after police used stun grenades, water cannon and rubber bullets to disperse crowds in Minsk and other cities.
“The authorities should think about how to peacefully hand over power to us,” she said. “I consider myself the winner of this election.”
Election officials confirmed Lukashenko’s re-election to a sixth term on Monday morning, saying he had won with more than 80 percent of the vote, with Tsikhanouskaya coming second with just under 10 percent.
The 65-year-old former collective farm boss has ruled ex-Soviet Belarus since 1994, stamping out dissent and earning the nickname of “Europe’s last dictator.”
European governments questioned the results of Sunday’s election, with the European Union calling for ballots to be “accurately” counted, Germany voicing “strong doubts” about the conduct of the vote and Belarus’s neighbor Poland calling for an emergency EU summit on the situation.
“The authorities have used force against their citizens, who are demanding change in the country. We must support the Belarusian people in their quest for freedom,” Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said in a statement.
Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Lukashenko, a longtime ally, as did Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, whose surprise candidacy is posing the biggest challenge to the veteran leader in years, said Sunday’s presidential vote had been rigged and accused authorities of resorting to force to hold on to power.
“The voters made their choice but the authorities did not hear us, they have broken with the people,” Tsikhanouskaya told a news conference after police used stun grenades, water cannon and rubber bullets to disperse crowds in Minsk and other cities.
“The authorities should think about how to peacefully hand over power to us,” she said. “I consider myself the winner of this election.”
Election officials confirmed Lukashenko’s re-election to a sixth term on Monday morning, saying he had won with more than 80 percent of the vote, with Tsikhanouskaya coming second with just under 10 percent.
The 65-year-old former collective farm boss has ruled ex-Soviet Belarus since 1994, stamping out dissent and earning the nickname of “Europe’s last dictator.”
European governments questioned the results of Sunday’s election, with the European Union calling for ballots to be “accurately” counted, Germany voicing “strong doubts” about the conduct of the vote and Belarus’s neighbor Poland calling for an emergency EU summit on the situation.
“The authorities have used force against their citizens, who are demanding change in the country. We must support the Belarusian people in their quest for freedom,” Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said in a statement.
Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Lukashenko, a longtime ally, as did Chinese leader Xi Jinping.