Lukashenko to run for president in 2025, Belarus blasts US over poll criticism
- The president, in power since 1994, spoke on the day Belarus, Russia’s neighbour and ally, held parliamentary elections described as a sham by the opposition
- The US State Department said the elections were ‘held in a climate of fear under which no electoral processes could be called democratic’
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Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who has held power since 1994, said on Sunday he intended to seek re-election next year, which could extend his grip on the country to 36 years.
“Tell them [the exiled opposition] that I’ll run. No one, no responsible president would abandon his people who followed him into battle,” Lukashenko said, according to Belarusian state news agency BelTA.
US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said: “The elections were held in a climate of fear under which no electoral processes could be called democratic.”
The chairman of Belarus’ Central Election Commission, in comments quoted by BelTA, said it was not up to the United States to comment on the election.
“We don’t denounce their elections. We make no statements, even if they had over there a lot of questions for all to see, even in their last presidential election,” Igor Karpenko was quoted as saying.
“They work according to the principle that we are bigger and can therefore tell everyone what to do. I think we can manage quite nicely conducting elections in our own country,” Karpenko said.
Election commission officials said voter turnout stood at just below 73 per cent by mid-evening.
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The Minsk regime relies heavily on Moscow for political and economic support.
“We will always be together with Russia,” Lukashenko said on Sunday.
Lukashenko’s re-election to a sixth term in 2020 sparked unprecedented protests by opponents alleging mass vote-rigging. Putin offered support to Lukashenko and the demonstrations died out after mass round-ups and detentions of protesters by police.
The president has since orchestrated a huge crackdown on dissent, jailing hundreds of opponents and forcing thousands into exile.
Lukashenko told reporters the role of parliament would be bolstered in his country.
“People are beginning to understand that in Belarus, for example, a president is not a tsar or a god. It is very hard work,” BelTA quoted him as saying. “Parliament’s role will be expanded, every month, every year.”
There are no real opposition candidates in Sunday’s parliamentary elections.
Most candidates belong to the four officially registered parties: Belaya Rus, the Communist Party, the Liberal Democratic Party and the Party of Labor and Justice. Those parties all support Lukashenko’s policies. About a dozen other parties were denied registration last year.
Lukashenko’s exiled opponents have urged Belarusians to stay at home and boycott the vote.
Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who is in exile in neighbouring Lithuania after challenging Lukashenko in the 2020 presidential election, posted a video on social media dismissing Sunday’s elections.
“There are no people on the ballot who would offer real changes because the regime only has allowed puppets convenient for it to take part,” Tsikhanouskaya said in the video statement.
“We are calling to boycott this senseless farce, to ignore this election without choice.”
“Let’s be clear: the regime’s attempt to use these fake elections to legitimise its power will not be successful,” Tsikhanouskaya said.
“The people of Belarus see through this sham,” she said, urging the international community not to recognise the outcome of the ballot.
Tsikhanouskaya’s video address was broadcast in public places throughout Belarus on Saturday after opposition activists were able to gain access to some 2,000 screens used for advertising.
The Viasna Human Rights Centre reported on Sunday that a number of employees at the company that owned the screens have been arrested in Minsk.
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Viasna said students, soldiers, teachers and other civil servants were forced to take part in early voting.
“Authorities are using all available means to ensure the result they need – from airing TV propaganda to forcing voters to cast ballots early,” said Viasna representative Pavel Sapelka. “Detentions, arrests and searches are taking place during the vote.”
Lukashenko had warned the authorities had “learned our lesson” since the 2020 protests and there would be “no rebellions” during Sunday’s election.
Last month, Belarus’s powerful KGB security service orchestrated a series of raids which rights group said had targeted the families of political prisoners.
There are currently 1,419 political detainees in Belarus jails, according to leading human rights group Viasna.
Additional reporting by Reuters, Associated Press
