Alexander Lukashenko, who is expected to secure a seventh consecutive term in Sunday's presidential election in Belarus, “has no legitimacy”said the head of European diplomacy Kaja Kallas on Saturday. “Lukachenko has clung to power for 30 years. Tomorrow he will rename himself in a new election charade. It’s an affront to democracy.”she added on X.
Sunday's presidential election will only be a formality for this close ally of Vladimir Putin. The unprecedented protest movement which rose against him in 2020 after his re-election was eradicated by force: hundreds of Belarusians were sentenced to heavy prison sentences and hundreds of thousands of others fled the country, particularly in Poland, leaving the opposition bloodless.
Targeted by Western sanctions, Alexander Lukashenko nevertheless seeks to improve his image and has increased the pardons of prisoners in recent months, while continuing arrests at the same time.
