Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, Who Claimed Election Fraud,
Films Video Accepting Results and Heads to Lithuania
Husband and Campaign Staff Reportedly Threatened
[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] Political instability continues in Belarus following the presidential election. Despite the incumbent president's landslide victory, protests criticizing the election process persist in the streets, while the opposition candidate with the highest votes abruptly fled to a neighboring country.
Belarusian citizens took to the streets to protest the presidential election results [Image source=EPA Yonhap News]
On the 11th (local time), protests continued for the third consecutive day in major cities including Minsk, the capital of Belarus, following the presidential election. President Alexander Lukashenko, who has been in power for the past 26 years, won a landslide victory with 80.1% of the vote in this election. However, citizens took to the streets raising concerns about the election process. Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, the strongest opposition candidate in this election, left Belarus and crossed over to Lithuania on the same day.
After arriving locally, two videos were released in which she read a statement, urging the Belarusian people to now accept the election results in which President Lukashenko won by a landslide.
This message has been received surprisingly. Tikhanovskaya had declared non-acceptance of the election results, raising issues about the election. Regarding this, Tikhanovskaya’s associates claimed that she was threatened and forced to record these videos after being detained. Tikhanovskaya, a 37-year-old ordinary English teacher, entered politics after her husband, a well-known blogger, was arrested in May this year. Her associates believe that Tikhanovskaya was threatened due to concerns over the safety of her imprisoned husband and arrested election campaign staff.
Citizens continue to protest regarding the presidential election. Heavily armed police are suppressing the protests using tear gas and rubber bullets, but Belarusian citizens are protesting with slogans such as "Shame on you." Drivers are also showing support for the protesters by honking their horns. According to foreign media, Belarusian police are violently suppressing the protesters. Scenes showing multiple police officers beating a single protester have also been reported.
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