‘We have a brutal democracy in Belarus,’ the authoritarian leader Lukashenko, a staunch ally of the Putin’s, told reporters after casting his vote in an election expected to secure him a seventh term in officeread more
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Sunday (January 26) described his country as a “brutal democracy” and said political prisoners could be released if they request pardons, while dismissing dialogue with exiled opposition figures.
“We have a brutal democracy in Belarus,” Lukashenko told reporters after casting his vote in an election expected to secure him a seventh term in office. “We don’t put pressure on anyone and we won’t silence anyone.”
The authoritarian leader, a staunch ally of the Kremlin who has ruled Belarus for nearly three decades, said political prisoners– estimated at around 1,000– must request pardons to secure their release. “If you do not ask for one, it means you’re ok. You have to ask for it,” he said.
Criticism from EU
Lukashenko brushed off criticism from the European Union, which has condemned his rule and the election process. On Saturday (January 25), the EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, called the presidential election “a blatant affront to democracy” and said Lukashenko “doesn’t have any legitimacy.”
The Belarusian president dismissed the EU’s statements, saying he was indifferent to whether the election results were recognised by other countries. “It is a matter of taste,” he said.
Lukashenko also rejected the idea of engaging with exiled opponents, including Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who challenged him in the 2020 presidential election widely regarded as rigged. “What would I have to talk to them about?” he said, adding that those in exile made their own choices. “We didn’t push anyone out of the country,” he said.
Belarus’ election: A farce?
Meanwhile, Tikhanovskaya called Sunday’s presidential election in Belarus a “farce” to keep Lukashenko in power.
“What is happening in Belarus today is a farce,” she told reporters in the Polish capital of Warsaw, branding Lukashenko “a criminal who has seized power” and calling for the release of all political prisoners and free and far elections.
With inputs from agencies