[ad_1]
“The August 9 elections were neither free nor fair. The published results were misleading and did not signify legitimacy,” said a representative of the State Department.
“The United States cannot consider Aliaksandr Lukashenko the legitimately elected leader of Belarus,” he stressed.
Earlier on Wednesday, Lukashenko was sworn in as President of Belarus for a sixth term during a ceremony at the Independence Palace in Minsk, which had not been announced in advance, state news agency BelTA reported.
VIDEO: Under the cloak of secrecy: Lukashenko was sworn in as president for the sixth time in Minsk
Shortly after the ceremony, a chain of countries, including Lithuania and Germany, declared that they did not consider Lukashenko the legitimate president of Belarus.
In central Minsk on Wednesday, 5-7 thousand people gathered to protest Lukashenko’s inauguration. Law enforcement officers used tear gas and water cannons against the protesters.
In Belarus there have been unprecedented protests for more than a month over the presidential elections on August 9, which Lukashenko has ruled the country since 1994. The opposition and western countries consider these elections to be rigged.
[ad_2]
