President Alexander Lukashenko who has ruled Belarus for the last 26 years is facing the single greatest challenge to his leadership from a growing protest movement triggered by brutal police crackdowns
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko addresses his supporters gathered at Independent Square of Minsk, Belarus, Sunday, August 16, 2020.
As mass protests continued against his rule, Lukashenko spoke on the capital's Independence Square, telling supporters: "I called you here not to defend me... but for the first time in a quarter-century, to defend your country and its independence."The strongman who has ruled Belarus for the last 26 years is facing the greatest challenge to his leadership from a growing protest movement fanned by a brutal police crackdown.
Wiping his brow, the president standing at a podium in a short-sleeved shirt, insisted on the legitimacy of last Sunday's presidential poll in which he claimed victory over popular opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya."The elections were valid. There could not be more than 80 percent of votes falsified. We will not hand over the country," he said, as Tikhanovskaya has called for fresh elections after the official count gave Lukashenko 80 percent and her 10 percent.
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