{"id":2305,"date":"2025-01-27T07:08:00","date_gmt":"2025-01-27T07:08:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/belaruss-strong-arm-leader-aleksandr-lukashenko-cruises-to-re-election\/"},"modified":"2025-01-27T07:08:00","modified_gmt":"2025-01-27T07:08:00","slug":"belaruss-strong-arm-leader-aleksandr-lukashenko-cruises-to-re-election","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/belaruss-strong-arm-leader-aleksandr-lukashenko-cruises-to-re-election\/","title":{"rendered":"Belarus\u2019s Strong-Arm Leader, Aleksandr Lukashenko, Cruises to Re-election"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- ItShrt World News -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"1882483372\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-0\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Europe\u2019s longest-serving leader, President Aleksandr G. Lukashenko of Belarus, cruised to his seventh election victory in a row on Sunday in a contest that his exiled opponents dismissed as a sham whose only purpose was to cement his autocratic grip on the former Soviet republic, Russia\u2019s closest ally.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cDon\u2019t use the word election to describe this farce,\u201d said Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, an opposition leader who <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/08\/11\/world\/europe\/belarus-election-Svetlana-Tikhanovskaya.html\" title=\"\">fled Belarus after the country\u2019s previous presidential vote in 2020<\/a> and a <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/11\/14\/world\/europe\/belarus-lukashenko-protests-crackdown.html\" title=\"\">brutal crackdown<\/a> on nationwide protests over election fraud. \u201cIt is a staged performance by Lukashenko to cling to power at any cost.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u2014 <\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\"><a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/belta.by\/society\/view\/za-lukashenko-na-vyborah-v-belarusi-progolosovali-8682-izbiratelej-691695-2025\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Official results released early Monday<\/a> awarded Mr. Lukashenko yet another landslide victory with 86.82 percent of the vote. That is even more than the 81 percent he claimed in the contested 2020 election \u2014 a result that his opponents and Western governments dismissed as implausibly high, and that set off huge street protests.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">With dissenting voices inside the country silenced by Mr. Lukashenko\u2019s expansive security apparatus, there is little chance of protests this time. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-1\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Unlike in 2020, when Ms. Tikhanovskaya was allowed to run against Mr. Lukashenko and declared herself the winner, Sunday\u2019s election was a tightly controlled and tame affair, featuring only candidates loyal to the president. None expressed any desire to actually defeat Mr. Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus with an iron fist since 1994.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Ms. Tikhanovskaya, out of the country since 2020, did not take part in Sunday\u2019s election and was instead in Warsaw, leading a protest against Mr. Lukashenko, who mocked her efforts and<span class=\"css-8l6xbc evw5hdy0\">  <\/span>claimed that President Trump had cut off funding to her opposition movement in exile. He appeared to be referring to an executive order last week that halted virtually all foreign aid for a 90-day reassessment period.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Three candidates running against Mr. Lukashenko, according to official results reported by Belta, the state news agency, garnered around or less than two percent of the vote each. A fourth, the leader of the Communist Party, Sergei Syrankov, was listed as winning 3.2 percent.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">At a televised election debate last week, which the president did not join, Mr. Syrankov, saying said he wanted to be \u201chonest,\u201d acknowledged: \u201cEveryone in this studio knows that Aleksandr Lukashenko is going to win.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-2\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">With all of Mr. Lukashenko\u2019s prominent opponents either in jail or in exile and Belarus\u2019s media outlets all cheering for the incumbent, the result was a foregone conclusion. But it is one that still mattered to the president, who is eager to show his country \u2014 and also President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia \u2014 that the turmoil of 2020 has been tamed. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-3\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\"><a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/commission\/presscorner\/detail\/en\/statement_25_327\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">In a statement on Sunday,<\/a> the European Union\u2019s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, described the election as a \u201csham\u201d that \u201chas been neither free, nor fair.\u201d<span class=\"css-8l6xbc evw5hdy0\">  <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But foreign election observers, drawn from Africa, former Soviet republics and far-right political parties in Europe like Alternative for Germany, hailed the vote as a triumph for democracy and denounced tart criticism of the election by European officials and the European Parliament. \u201cThey say that there is a dictatorship here, but I don\u2019t think so \u2014 the reality in Belarus is completely different,\u201d Krastyo Vrachev, an observer representing a fringe nationalist party from Bulgaria, told Belarus\u2019s state news agency. \u201cPeople are calm and communicate with ease; in Europe this is not at all the case,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The election was certainly calm, so much so that Mr. Lukashenko barely bothered to campaign, saying he was too busy to take part in a debate with four state-selected rival candidates or to hold rallies. In a nod to conventional politics, however, last week he signed a decree raising pensions by 10 percent starting Feb. 1.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">A <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/en.belaruspolls.org\/wave-20\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">recent survey of public opinion in Belarus by Chatham House<\/a>, a British research group, indicated widespread dissatisfaction with the economy, which has been hit hard by<span class=\"css-8l6xbc evw5hdy0\">  <\/span>economic sanctions imposed on the country over its support for Russia\u2019s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Just 11 percent of respondents were definitely satisfied with the economy, while only 32 percent said they supported Russia\u2019s invasion.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-4\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Lukashenko\u2019s main appeal, according to the survey, is his \u201cfavorable image\u201d as a \u201cpolitician striving to prevent Belarus from being involved in the military conflict following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-5\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Russian troops used Belarus as a staging ground for an initial, abortive thrust toward Kyiv in early 2022, but Mr. Lukashenko has resisted pressure from Moscow to send Belarus\u2019s troops to join the fight against Ukraine.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">After casting his vote Sunday in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, Mr. Lukashenko predicted that \u201cthere will be some kind of resolution this year,\u201d to the conflict, adding that President Trump \u201cis not an idiot, not a fool\u201d and recognizes that \u201cyou can\u2019t push us around,\u201d referring to Belarus and Russia. \u201cWe will see light at the end of the tunnel this year,\u201d he said of the war. <\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">His nominal rivals in Sunday\u2019s vote all avoided criticism of Mr. Lukashenko, who brooks no open dissent and has embraced his moniker as \u201cEurope\u2019s last dictator,\u201d a<a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/08\/24\/world\/europe\/Lukashenko-Belarus.html\" title=\"\">n insult coined in 2005 by the U. S. secretary of state at the time, Condoleezza Rice.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-6\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">While delighting in taunting the West, particularly neighboring Poland, and displaying his loyalty to Moscow, Mr. Lukashenko has in recent months signaled a desire to improve frosty relations with Western capitals by <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/12\/24\/world\/europe\/belarus-lukashenko-putin-west-sanctions.html\" title=\"\">releasing political prisoners.<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">This process, widely seen as an effort to get relief from Western sanctions, continued on Friday when Mr. Lukashenko pardoned 15 more prisoners, including five people jailed for \u201cextremist crimes,\u201d a blanket term used to describe criticism of the president. The names of those released were not made public.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Secretary of State Marco Rubio, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/secrubio\/status\/1883501830182948893?s=46&amp;t=4qPcdfZVvguwYr8xs2mG-g\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">in a social media post<\/a> on Sunday, indicated that they included a United States citizen whom he identified as Anastasia Nuhfer, \u201cwho was taken under JOE BIDEN!\u201d he said in the post. Mr. Rubio said Ms. Nuhfer had been \u201cunilaterally released,\u201d thanks to President Trump\u2019s leadership.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">At a news conference in Minsk on Sunday, Mr. Lukashenko denied that he was releasing prisoners to curry favor abroad, saying, \u201cI don\u2019t give a damn about the West.\u201d He said his decision to set some people free \u201cis based on the principle of humanity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">None of Mr. Lukashenko\u2019s most prominent opponents, who include Ms. Tikhanovskaya\u2019s husband, Sergei, have been set free. The United States and the European Union have left sanctions in place.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-7\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In a sign that the authorities are hoping for a more sympathetic hearing from the new Trump administration, Belarus\u2019s state media last week reported gleefully that, following the inauguration in Washington, the State Department had <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.state.gov\/denouncing-sham-elections-and-continued-repression-in-belarus\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">removed from its website a statement<\/a> critical of Sunday\u2019s election that had been made by the outgoing secretary of state, Antony J. Blinken.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Blinken\u2019s deleted statement denounced the Belarus election as a farce, saying, \u201cThe United States joins many of our European allies in assessing that elections cannot be credible in an environment where censorship is ubiquitous and independent media outlets no longer exist.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- ItShrt World News -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"1882483372\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/01\/26\/world\/europe\/belarus-lukashenko-re-election.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Europe\u2019s longest-serving leader, President Aleksandr G. Lukashenko of Belarus, cruised to his seventh election victory in a row on Sunday<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2306,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[602,604,563,603,599,585,600,601,609,605,608,607,606,598],"class_list":["post-2305","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world","tag-aleksandr-g","tag-antony-j","tag-belarus","tag-blinken","tag-chatham-house-the-royal-institute-of-international-affairs","tag-embargoes-and-sanctions","tag-european-parliament","tag-lukashenko","tag-minsk-belarus","tag-putin","tag-svetlana","tag-tikhanovskaya","tag-vladimir-v","tag-voter-fraud-election-fraud"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Belarus\u2019s Strong-Arm Leader, Aleksandr Lukashenko, Cruises to Re-election - World News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/belaruss-strong-arm-leader-aleksandr-lukashenko-cruises-to-re-election\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Belarus\u2019s Strong-Arm Leader, Aleksandr Lukashenko, Cruises to Re-election - World News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Europe\u2019s longest-serving leader, President Aleksandr G. 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