Lukashenko 'inaugurated' after extending his rule in 'sham' elections
Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko began his seventh term in power on March 25 after declaring himself the winner of the January elections broadly seen as neither fair nor free.
In his inauguration address at the Independence Palace in Minsk, Lukashenko said that Belarus "has its own standards for holding elections, which can become an international benchmark."
The Belarusian Election Commission claimed that Lukashenko "won" 86.82% of the vote on Jan. 26, followed by regime-approved and little-known candidates like Sergey Syrankov with 3.21% or Oleg Gaidukevich with 2.02%.
In power since 1994, Lukashenko's dictatorial rule has been marked by a harsh crackdown on political opposition, free media, and civil society.
In his speech, the dictator claimed that Belarus ensures everyone's opportunity to express their opinion but "will not allow freedom of speech to be used as a club to destroy our own country."
A day before the inauguration, 10 Belarusian human rights groups denounced the January presidential elections and Lukashenko's continued hold on power.
The latest vote was "held in a deep human rights crisis, in an atmosphere of total fear caused by repressions against civil society, independent media, the opposition, and all dissenters," the statement read.
In 2020, Lukashenko also declared himself the winner despite independent pollsters saying that his opponent, independent candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, won the most votes. The election fraud sparked mass protests, which were followed by a violent crackdown and mass arrests.
Lukashenko has been a key ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin during Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, allowing Moscow's forces to use Belarus as a launching ground for the invasion of Kyiv and missile attacks in 2022.
