Election in Belarus

“Europe’s last dictator” is crowned again

Lukashenko has no competition this time.(Bild: AFP/Sergei SAVOSTYANOV)

An election that is not an election! After more than 30 years in power, Alexander Lukashenko wants to be re-elected head of state in Belarus this Sunday in a presidential election that has been criticized as a farce. 

It is considered certain that the 70-year-old, who has been described as "Europe's last dictator", will be declared the winner for the seventh time in a row. The four competitors in the ex-Soviet republic are regarded as mere extras. Around 6.9 million eligible voters have been called to the polls.

Polling stations close at 6 p.m. Central European Time. It is expected that Lukashenko will then be declared the winner. In 2020, the electoral commission awarded him 80.1 percent of the vote. The opposition in exile, led by Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who many believe won the 2020 election, called on the international community to recognize neither the election nor Lukashenko as president.

Criticism comes once again from Brussels
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas described the presidential election in Belarus as a "sham" and an "affront to democracy".

Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko has been clinging to power for 30 years and will reappoint himself as president in another sham election, she wrote on Platform X, adding: "This is a blatant affront to democracy." Lukashenko has no legitimacy.