The Kremlin on Jan. 27 welcomed Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko's claimed election victory, dismissing Western criticism of the vote as "expected."
Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus since 1994 and is Russian President Vladimir Putin's closest ally, was declared the winner with 86.82% of the vote.
"The elections in Belarus were transparent and absolutely legitimate. Moscow does not take into account the expected criticism of the elections in Belarus in the West," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Russian media.
Lukashenko competed for the presidency against regime-approved candidates Sergey Syrankov, who secured 3.21% of the vote, and Oleg Gaidukevich, who received 2%, while 3.6% of ballots reportedly voted "against all."
EU's chief diplomat, Kaja Kallas, criticized Lukashenko ahead of the election, denouncing it as a sham and an affront to democracy.
"Lukashenko has clung to power for 30 years. This is a blatant affront to democracy. Lukashenko doesn’t have any legitimacy," she said.
Exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who contested the 2020 election, condemned the results, calling the vote a "special operation" to illegally maintain power.
The 2020 election, marked by mass protests and a violent crackdown, became pivotal in Belarus' history. Lukashenko claimed victory despite widespread evidence of fraud, while Tsikhanouskaya asserted she won 60% of the vote.
Since then, over 60,000 Belarusians have been detained for political reasons, according to the human rights group Viasna.
Olena Goncharova
