The President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, was sworn in on Tuesday for his seventh term as president, but human rights organizations have labeled his rule as “unconstitutional.”
Lukashenko won over 86% of the vote in the presidential elections held on January 26, which were widely condemned by Western countries as a farce.
“The elections were held amid a deep human rights crisis, in an atmosphere of total fear caused by the repression of civil society, independent media, the opposition, and all opponents,” said a joint statement from ten Belarusian human rights organizations on Tuesday.
Lukashenko took the oath during a ceremony in the capital, Minsk.
On the same day, hundreds of supporters of the Belarusian democratic opposition organized protests in various parts of Europe, including in Lithuania, Poland, and the Czech Republic, to mark Belarus Freedom Day.
March 25 marks the anniversary of Belarus’s declaration of independence in 1918 and is traditionally celebrated by the Belarusian opposition, many of whom have been forced to flee the country or have been imprisoned by Lukashenko’s regime.
In the January presidential elections, which saw no presence of international media or Western observers, Lukashenko competed against four other candidates, all of whom supported his government and policies, according to reports by REL.
Lukashenko, who has been in power for over three decades, dismissed any criticism of the elections, as did Russia, Minsk’s closest ally.
In 2020, after disputed presidential elections that gave Lukashenko another term, massive protests erupted, which were violently suppressed by the regime.
The elections were widely condemned as rigged by the United States, the European Union, and other international actors.
Protesters, who were demanding Lukashenko’s resignation, faced mass arrests, alleged torture, and violent repression, which led to the deaths of several individuals.
