MINSK (Reuters) - Belarusian opposition politician Svetlana Tikhanouskaya said on Monday she refused to recognise official results that showed incumbent Alexander Lukashenko had won a landslide re-election victory.
Preliminary official results earlier on Monday showed that Lukashenko had won 80% of the vote in Sunday’s election.
Tikhanouskaya, a former English teacher who emerged from obscurity to become his main rival, won 9.9% of the vote, the data showed.
Tikhanouskaya told reporters in Minsk she considered herself the election winner not Lukashenko.
She said the election had been massively rigged.
Her aides said the opposition wanted a vote recount at polling stations where there were problems.
They also said the opposition wanted to hold talks with authorities about how to bring about a peaceful change of power.
Source: Reuters, Staff, August 10, 2020
Lukashenko declared winner in Belarus election
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko won a landslide re-election victory, the central election commission has said, after violent clashes between riot police and thousands of protesters who said the poll was rigged.
Figures from the election commission this morning said Mr Lukashenko had won 80% of the vote in yesterday's election.
Svetlana Tikhanouskaya, a former English teacher who emerged from obscurity to become his main rival, won 9.9% of the vote, the data showed.
Ms Tikhanouskaya refused to recognise official results, telling reporters that she considered herself the election winner not Lukashenko and demanded authorities transfer power to the opposition.
"Yesterday the voters made their choice but the authorities did not hear us, they have broken with the people," Svetlana Tikhanovskaya told a news conference.
She said the election had been massively rigged. Her aides said the opposition wanted a vote recount at polling stations where there were problems.
Foreign observers have not judged an election to be free and fair in Belarus since 1995, and the run-up to the vote saw authorities jail Mr Lukashenko's rivals and open criminal investigations into others who voiced opposition.
Mr Lukashenko has ruled the country since 1994, but is facing his biggest challenge in years to keep his grip on power amid disenchantment in some quarters over his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, the economy and his patchy human rights record.
The streets were quiet in the capital Minsk and other cities after violence last night when police used force to try to disperse thousands of protesters who gathered after polls closed to denounce what they said were illegitimate elections.
Police fired water cannons, teargas and stun grenades to try to force people to go home.
Video footage showed helmeted police forcefully detaining protesters and a police van hit a crowd of people in Minsk, witnesses said.
IN PICTURES | Protests against Belarusian election
Spring 96, a rights group, said at least one person had been killed in the van incident. It said dozens had been injured in the clashes and that over 100 people had been detained.
Authorities said nobody had lost their life in the violence, but that 10 police officers had been injured.
Ms Tikhanouskaya, who entered the race after her blogger husband who intended to run was jailed, was expected to speak later today.
Her rallies have drawn some of the biggest crowds since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Lukashenko's attempts to crack down on protests could hurt his wider effort to mend fences with the West amid fraying ties with traditional ally Russia, which has tried to press Belarus into closer economic and political union.
Human rights groups say more than 1,300 people were detained in the crackdown ahead of the election, including independent election observers and members of Ms Tikhanouskaya's campaign team.
After casting his vote yesterday, Mr Lukashenko denied imposing repressive measures as "fake news or far-fetched accusations".
Protesters gathered near a central monument in Minsk last night, where they formed human chains as they faced off against hundreds of riot police with shields.
At least 213 people were detained in the police crackdown on the protests.
The Viasna Human Rights Centre said at least 110 people were detained in Minsk, including at least 40 at or near polling stations and 70 during a pro-opposition protest. Others were detained in various cities.
Government buildings in Minsk were cordoned off, and residents reported internet shutdowns and widespread connection problems.
Social media posts also showed columns of military vehicles on roads leading into the capital.
After several hours of rallies, state news agency Belta quoted the country's interior ministry as saying that "police are in control of the situation".
Protests had largely died down in the capital by 3am (1am Irish time).
Ales Bialiatski, the head of Viasna, said several people were injured and accused police of using excessive force against the mainly young protesters.
"The police responded with disproportionate harshness, using their full force," he said.
In a news conference after polls closed, Ms Tikhanovskaya said she did not trust the results.
"I believe my eyes, and I see that the majority is with us," she said. "We have already won, because we have overcome our fear, our apathy and our indifference."
She also called on members of law enforcement to stop using force.
Her ally, Maria Kolesnikova, said the government was "incapable of running the country" and an "unprecedented" political crisis was setting in.
Source: rte.ie, Staff, August 10, 2020
Ukrainian lawmakers respond to post-election events in Belarus
Some members of the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, have responded to mass protests and detentions in the wake of presidential elections in Belarus.
The corresponding statement was published on Facebook by MP from the Servant of the People parliamentary faction Yevheniya Kravchuk.
It must be noted that Kravchuk did not specify the names of the lawmakers who signed the statement. The text of the document says that Ukrainian parliamentarians are monitoring developments in Belarus with concern.
"Given the proximity and kinship of the peoples of our countries, we consider it necessary to express support for the freedom of the Belarusian people to elect representative bodies of power, including the President, in a democratic, legal way. The Ukrainian people paid a high price for adherence to these principles. The memory of these victims encourages us to call on the Belarusian authorities to show restraint in regarding protesters, to prevent violations of human rights when the Belarusians exercise one of the fundamental rights – to a peaceful protest," the statement said.
The text also mentions that the protests in Belarus were caused by "numerous reports of violations and some non-transparent events that took place during the election campaign and on election day." Ukrainian parliamentarians called on all branches of power in Belarus to provide reliable and clear answers to the questions of the protesters as soon as possible to maintain peace and tranquility in the country.
"Not only a public consensus in Belarus, but also the preservation and strengthening of its sovereignty, the subsequent recognition of the election results by the international community, and therefore international support and protection of the statehood of the nation who are our friends, depend on openness, honesty, transparency, reason and restraint of all parties and participants in the elections. Long live a free and independent Belarus!" the statement reads.
As UNIAN reported earlier, the presidential elections were held in Belarus on August 9. Early voting began on August 4 and ended at 20:00 local time on Sunday, August 9.
According to the national exit poll, incumbent President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko is gaining 79.7% of the vote in the elections.
After the publication of exit poll findings, thousands of Belarusians took to the streets of Minsk and other cities, which resulted in spontaneous protests and clashes with law enforcement agencies. The police fired water cannons, tear gas and stun grenades in a crackdown on protests.
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