Mr Lukashenko, who was described as “Europe’s last dictator” by the administration of President George Bush, has maintained an iron grip on power in the former Soviet state, jailing opponents, controlling the media and sometimes using the blunt force of the police to crush public dissent to his rule. It was lowest in the city of Minsk at 73.33 per cent, the commission said on its website. Tatsiana Karatkevich, Lukashenko’s nearest rival, won 5.6% of the vote after making little attempt to criticize him directly and urging her followers to avoid street protests.
Advertisement
The president also stated that he is willing to improve Belarus’ relations with the Western countries, if they are also interested in better ties.
But Desir said the sanctions could be “reinstated immediately” if need be.
The 11-year-old, who regularly accompanies the president at official engagements, cast his father’s ballot for him at a polling station near their home in Minsk.
Yermoshina said all the ballots have been counted inside the country while the ballots cast at embassies overseas have yet to be counted.
Nevertheless, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which monitored the vote, said on Monday that “some significant problems, particularly during the counting and tabulation of votes, undermined the integrity of this election”.
The European Union will lift its sanctions on Belarus, including those on Lukashenko, for four months after Sunday’s vote, barring any last-minute crackdown, diplomatic sources said on Friday.
Liudmila Vauchok, a six-time Paralympic medallist in cross-country skiing and rowing, said she voted for Lukashenko because he brought “reliability and calm”. The Russian military already has an early warning radar and a navy communications facility in Belarus, but setting up an airbase would mark a significantly bigger military presence.
Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Alexander Lukashenko on his victory and said that “the convincing victory in the elections shows a high political authority, trust of the population, as well as active support for the ongoing course of the further socio-economic development of the country”.
The strongest opposition candidate, Tatiana Korotkevich of the Tell the Truth party, was predicted to get 25 percent.
Mr Lukashenko said it would be a bad sign if he received fewer votes than during the last election in 2010, when he won 80 per cent.
Advertisement
Lukashenko took the first step toward ending his country’s isolation past year when Belarus, Russia’s closest ally, refused to recognize Moscow’s annexation of Crimea or support Russia’s actions in eastern Ukraine, where Russia-backed rebels have been fighting government forces.
