Belarusians called to elect their president

(Keystone-ATS) 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 Mr. Lukashenko, 70, and NGOs defending fundamental rights 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 Mr. Lukashenko “has no legitimacy”. “He will rename himself in a new election charade. “It’s an affront to democracy,” she added on the social network X.

More than 1200 political prisoners

Members of the European Parliament also called for the results not to be recognized, especially since the previous election, in 2020, was followed by the merciless repression of an unprecedented protest movement.

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. Human rights organizations estimate that the country still has more than 1,200 political prisoners held in difficult conditions.

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.