Putin hails Lukashenko's 'convincing' re-election

Putin hails Lukashenko's 'convincing' re-election

MOSCOW
Putin hails Lukashenkos convincing re-election

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Jan. 27 congratulated Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko for winning a seventh term in office, saying the Jan. 26 election showed he had the "undoubted" backing of the people.

Official results showed the 70-year-old autocrat winning more than 86 percent of the vote, after having imprisoned or exiled all his major opponents.

The Belarusian leader has won every presidential election since 1994, in ballots that the opposition and rights groups say are rigged.

"Your convincing victory in the elections clearly testifies to your high political authority and to the undoubted support of the population for the state policy Belarus is pursuing," Putin said, according to the Kremlin.

"You are always a welcome and dear guest on Russian soil. As agreed, I look forward to seeing you soon in Moscow."

Lukashenko, a staunch ally of Putin, has carried out a ruthless crackdown on opponents since huge protests against him in 2020.

This time, the candidates picked to run against him actually campaigned in his favour.

Exiled opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya called the election a "farce", while the EU described it as a "sham."

Lukashenko said he did not care whether or not the bloc recognised the results.

In the Jan. 27’s election victory he won more of the vote than in 2020, when he won 81.04 percent.

Belarus's 2020 election ended in nationwide protests with demonstrators accusing Lukashenko of rigging the vote.

Tens of thousands of Belarusians fled their country in the aftermath of the 2020 protests.

The United Nations estimates that some 300,000 Belarusians have left the country since 2020 out of a population of nine million.