On August 9, presidential elections were held in Belarus. Until polling stations closed at 20:00, the voting process was generally calm. However, afterwards, protests began in various cities, which escalated into clashes with law enforcement agencies.
According to RIA Novosti, police and riot police used flashbangs, tear gas and water cannons to disperse demonstrators in central Minsk. They responded by throwing lighted flares at law enforcement officers and building barricades from garbage cans.
Journalists in the field report injured among the protesters and several hospitalized, but the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Belarus said that they have no information about the victims.
A crowd of protesters crowds riot police on a street in Minsk. Frames of our correspondent Konstantin Pridybailo pic.twitter.com/73HBrbWkf8
- RT in Russian (@RT_russian) August 9, 2020In addition, the media reported that law enforcement officers were injured, but the country's Interior Ministry did not confirm this either.
As the press secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Belarus Olga Chemodanova told RIA Novosti, "much of what is written on the Internet (about protest actions. - RT ) does not correspond to reality."
- Are you riot police like that?
- Yes.
- Did you provoke something?
- No, I just ran away.
Footage of our correspondent Konstantin Pridybailo from Minsk, where there are violent clashes between protesters and the police pic.twitter.com/EFVB1anV5P
Meanwhile, according to the Central Election Commission and exit polls commissioned by the Mir TV company, the incumbent President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko is confidently leading the presidential elections.
According to the head of the CEC of Belarus Lidia Yermoshina, Lukashenka wins in all regions of the country that have reported on the counting of votes in the presidential elections.
According to exit polls, the current leader of the country is gaining 79.7% of the vote, opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya - 6.8%. The rest of the candidates for the post of the country's leader - Andrey Dmitriev, Anna Kanopatskaya and Sergey Cherechen - received support from 1.1%, 2.3% and 0.9% of respondents, respectively.
However, the opposition believes that this information is not true. In particular, Tikhanovskaya stated that she is confident in her victory in the elections.
“We consider exit polls to be opaque and cannot rely on data from closed areas. We will wait for the official results and will certainly send a complaint to defend our rights, ”she said.
The turnout at the polling stations in Belarus had already exceeded 50% by Sunday afternoon, and by 20:00 it had exceeded 84%. At the same time, until August 9, residents of the republic had the opportunity to vote early within five days.
In Moscow, a polling station has been opened for citizens of Belarus at the embassy located on Maroseyka Street. In the morning, a long line formed at the entrance to the diplomatic mission. The embassy explained this situation with high voter turnout and precautionary measures against the background of the coronavirus threat.
Also, Belarusians in Russia got the opportunity to vote in St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad.
Wave of protests
The current election campaign in Belarus was very eventful.
Among others, three new figures in Belarusian politics announced their intention to nominate themselves for the post of head of state: ex-head of Belgazprombank Viktor Babariko, entrepreneur Valery Tsepkalo and Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, wife of video blogger Sergei Tikhanovsky.
The latter intended to run himself, but for a number of reasons was unable to do so. Then he concentrated on promoting his wife. On May 29, at a picket to collect signatures in Grodno, Tikhanovsky was detained. According to the country's Investigative Committee in July, several criminal cases were opened against Tikhanovsky "on the facts of deliberate actions aimed at inciting other social hatred, calls for violent and aggressive actions against law enforcement officers."
Nevertheless, the CEC of Belarus accepted documents from Svetlana Tikhanovskaya.
- Svetlana Tikhanovskaya
- RIA News
- © Ilya Pitalev
Babariko was denied registration because of claims against him by law enforcement officers. In June, the security agencies of Belarus suspected the ex-head of Belgazprombank of financial fraud while working in this institution. As the chairman of the State Control Committee (KGC) of the republic, Ivan Tertel, explained, the investigation believes that Babariko and his subordinates have withdrawn more than $ 430 million from the bank accounts to Latvia over several years.
Another opposition representative, Valery Tsepkalo, was denied registration by the CEC, claiming a large number of fake signatures in support of his nomination. In July, he left Belarus with two children and went to Russia. In early August, the entrepreneur's wife, Veronika, joined them. Tsepkalo explained his departure from the country by fears of criminal prosecution.
After Babariko and Tsepkalo dropped out of the pre-election race, the opposition consolidated around Tikhanovskaya. In her pre-election speech on the Belarus 1 TV channel, she stated that she was seeking changes in the political life of the republic, but stressed that the opposition was not going to hold a “Maidan” and was ready to protect the state from pressure from external forces.