MINSK (BELARUS) – Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko’s rival Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya urged European Union leaders on Wednesday not to recognise the ‘fraudulent election results’ saying the incumbent has lost all legitimacy to remain in power.
She spoke with EU leaders from Lithuania where she has sought exile and this comes ahead of an emergency summit of the European bloc members to discuss the crisis in Belarus.
Claiming to be the winner of the election, Tsikhanouskaya wants re-election to be held in her country under the supervision of an international agency.
“I call on you not to recognise these fraudulent elections,” Tsikhanouskaya said. “Mr. Lukashenko has lost all legitimacy in the eyes of our nation and the world.”
The president is scrambling to contain the spiraling wave of protests and strikes and denies rigging the election.
The EU has indicated that sanctions will be imposed on officials responsible for rigging polls and cracking down on protesters.
All eyes are now on neighbouring Russia, which has keen interests in Belarus. In fact when public protests led to the ouster of the Moscow-friendly leader of Ukraine in 2014, Russia intervened militarily.
Russian President Vladimir Putin had offered Lukashenko military help if needed and has warned German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron against foreign intervention in the affairs of Belarus. Russia views Belarus as a buffer zone against NATO.
(Photos syndicated via Reuters)
This story has been edited by BH staff and is published from a syndicated field
