Belarus: Lukashenko aims for a 7th term despite criticism

Belarusians began voting on Sunday for the presidential election, intended to re-elect for a seventh consecutive term the self-confessed autocrat Alexander Lukashenko, in power since 1994, in the absence of any tolerated opposition. Since 8:00 a.m. local time (6:00 a.m. in Switzerland), voters have been going to the polls for a vote without suspense, noted an AFP journalist in Minsk. Critics of Alexander Lukashenko, 70, and human rights NGOs have already described this election as staged.

With this presidential election, the leader intends to continue his reign, for at least five more years, at the head of this former Soviet republic bordering the European Union, Ukraine and Russia. During his sixth term, Alexander Lukashenko completely stifled any dissent after unprecedented demonstrations targeting him in 2020, moving ever closer to Moscow, to the point of lending his territory to the Russian army to invade Ukraine in 2022.

The head of European diplomacy Kaja Kalla said on Saturday that Alexander Lukashenko “has no legitimacy”. “He will rename himself in another election charade. It’s an affront to democracy,” she added on was followed by the merciless repression of an unprecedented protest movement.

In an interview with AFP at the beginning of January, Svetlana Tikhanovskaïa, leader of the opposition in exile and candidate against Mr. Lukashenko in 2020, denounced a “sham” election in a climate of terror. The leader, in his usual martial style, warned his opponents on Friday: “We will never repeat what happened in 2020!”, when his power had wavered, when tens of thousands of Belarusians denounced in the street a rigged presidential election.

Supported by his Russian ally Vladimir Putin, Mr. Lukashenko, once weakened, had managed to consolidate his power through arrests, violence and long prison sentences targeting opponents, journalists, NGO employees and simple demonstrators.

According to the UN, more than 300,000 Belarusians, out of a population of nine million, have fled their country for political reasons, mainly to Poland. Faced with this repression, the West imposed heavy sanctions on Belarus, leading Alexander Lukashenko to accelerate his rapprochement with the Kremlin, abandoning his balancing act between Moscow and the West.

Alexander Lukashenko recently declared that he had no interest in participating in electoral debates: “This is not the time to debate,” he said, while four candidates hand-picked by the government can participate, entirely reduced to a role of foil.

Human rights organizations estimate that the country still has more than 1,200 political prisoners held in difficult conditions, often deprived of access to lawyers or contact with their loved ones.