On Monday morning, Belarus election officials confirmed that Alexander Lukashenko has just won his sixth term in office, with over 80% of the votes.
Thousands of people took to the streets of Minsk, the capital, and other cities in the country on Sunday night, to protest the early vote count, which some believe has been officially manipulated.
The main opposition challenger, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, disputed the election results, claiming that “we have absolutely opposite information”.
Protesters have been taking to the streets for weeks, as the two main opposition leaders were denied places on the ballot: one was jailed, the other fled to Russia with his children.
Tikhanovskaya is an English teacher with no political experience who stepped up against Lukashenko to replace her husband, who was jailed in May. She came under heavy pressure over the weekend as eight members of her staff were arrested, and one of her top aides fled the country.
Alexander Lukashenko has been in power since 1994, and has been described as 'Europe’s last dictator'.
Report by Giulia Bassanese
#BelarusElections #AlexanderLukashenko #BelarusProtests
Subscribe here: [ Ссылка ]
Twitter: [ Ссылка ]
Facebook: [ Ссылка ]
If you wish to purchase any of our clips for commercial use, please visit: [ Ссылка ]
