The main challenger in the contested election of Belarus has called on President Alexander Lukashenko to seize power when police for the second night in a series of clashes with Protestants in the capital Minsk and other cities.
Police in riot gear stormed a rally on Monday, removing hundreds of protesters by truck. More than 30 people were arrested, according to the Reuters news agency.
“I want change in my country. I am sick and tired. The Lukashenko dictatorship must be annulled,” a male protester told Al Jazeera correspondent Step Vaessen in Minsk.
“I want to [to] living in a free country, I want my children to live in a free country. I want them to have a future, “said another protester.
‘I consider myself the winner’
Meanwhile, Lukashenko’s main challenger, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, said she would not take part in the demonstrations in order to avoid any provocation to the Protestants.
Tikhanovskaya, whose candidate for surprise candidacy posed the biggest challenge to the veteran leader in years, said Sunday’s presidential vote was rigged and accused authorities of forcing him to cling to power.
“The voters made their choice, but the authorities did not hear us,” the 37-year-old told a news conference after police used stunt grenades, water cannon and rubber bullets to disperse crowds in Belarus.
“The authorities need to think about how they can transfer the power of peace to us,” she said. “I consider myself the winner of this election.”
Official results gave Lukashenko, in power for more than a quarter of a century, a share of 80 percent of the vote, while Tikhanovskaya, a former English teacher who joined the race after her blogger husband was jailed, took just 9.9 percent.
Foreign observers have not ruled in favor of free and fair elections in Belarus since 1995, and in the run-up to the vote, authorities saw Lukashenko’s rivals and open criminal investigations against others who opposed the election.
Germany called on the European Union to discuss sanctions on Belarus that were lifted in 2016 to promote better relations.
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Belarus: Lukashenko wins election rally by protesters |
Russian President Vladimir Putin used a congratulatory telegram to support Lukashenko in accepting deeper ties between the two peoples, which the Belarussian leader has previously refused to attack his country’s independence.
Tikhanovskaya, a stay-at-home mom, galvanized the opposition during the election campaign, drawing tens of thousands of supporters to the largest ex-Soviet demonstrations in years.
The opposition now wants to cast a ballot at polling stations where there were problems, their assistants said, adding that protests would continue.
‘There will be no revolution’
There was no immediate response to that offer from Lukashenko, a former Soviet collective farm manager who has kept Belarus under tight control since 1994.
He has faced his biggest challenge in years of holding power amid discontent over his handling of the economy, the COVID-19 pandemic, and human rights abuses.
But Lukashenko signaled that he would not step down.
“The response will be appropriate. We will not be able to rip the country apart,” the 65-year-old leader was quoted as saying by the Belta news agency.
Lukashenko repeated accusations that shaken forces abroad were trying to manipulate Protestants whom he called “sheep” to overthrow him, something he said he would never allow.
“They’re trying to orchestrate Mayhem,” Lukashenko said. “But I have already warned: there will be no revolution.”
Insurgent police arrest protestant following polls close at Minsk presidential election in Belarus [Tatyana Zenkovich/EPA]
SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies
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