Two years after Belarus election, 'torch of freedom' still burning, says Tsikhanouskaya
Today marks two years since the disputed presidential election in Belarus, which sparked a protest movement of unprecedented size in a country that has been labelled “the last dictatorship in Europe”.
Alexander Lukashenko was declared the victor -- by a landslide -- in the August 9 2020 vote.
In fact, he has been declared the winner of every presidential election held in the country since it split from the Soviet Union in the early 1990s.
Many believe he has held onto this position by rigging elections. This was the accusation of the opposition in Belarus, and tens of thousands of the general public, who took to the streets following the 2020 election result.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who ran in the August 2020 presidential contest against Lukashenko following her husband's arrest, is thought by many to have won the election instead.
"I want to applaud Belarusians and friends of Belarus around the world for carrying our torch of freedom. You made sure that our voices are heard," Tsikhanouskaya said in a Twitter post on the anniversary of the 2020 election on Tuesday.
"On this Day of Solidarity with Belarus, two years after the stolen elections, I thank all who kept our light burning," she added.
Tsikhanouskaya fled Belarus two days after the election after Lukashenko cracked down on the ongoing protests. Two people were killed in the clashes with the Belarus police, and thousands of people were arrested.
The European Union and the United States have branded the election fraudulent and imposed sanctions on high-ranking Belarusian officials for the violent repression of the mass pro-democracy demonstrations that followed the plebiscite.
In the aftermath of the election, as many as 30,000 were arrested for protesting against
Read more on euronews.com
