Belarus Election Results in Favor of Lukashenko
Alexander Lukashenko, the leader of Belarus, is set to win a seventh term in office. The election was held on January 26 and has been widely criticized as unfair.
Lukashenko won 86.82% of the vote, according to early results from the Central Election Commission. There was little competition for him, as many opposition leaders are either imprisoned or living abroad.
The 2020 re-election of Lukashenko sparked big protests in Belarus. This time around, there were no significant demonstrations against his rule. Western countries have criticized Lukashenko’s government and imposed sanctions.
Lukashenko has been close to Russia for a long time. He campaigned on a platform of “peace and security.” He said it was better to have a dictatorship like Belarus than a democracy like Ukraine.
The election date was moved to January, when there might be fewer protests because of the cold weather. The government made sure there was no strong opposition before the vote.