In the last week and a half, thousands of protesters have filled the streets of Minsk and other cities in Belarus, voicing their anger over the widely disputed results of a presidential election. President Alexander Lukashenko, the authoritarian ruler of Belarus for the past 26 years, was declared the winner with 80 percent of the vote, giving him a sixth term in office. The main opposition candidate, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, fled to Lithuania shortly after the election, as protesters on the street were beaten by riot police and arrested by the thousands. In the following days, crowds attended some of the largest protests in the country’s history, with people demanding the resignation of Lukashenko, the release of political prisoners, and an end to police brutality. A number of groups of workers have staged strikes in support of the protests as well, building some momentum. President Lukashenko has not ceded any ground, and government prosecutors have now opened criminal cases against opposition leaders.
Anger and Protest Over a Presidential Election in Belarus
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People take part in a protest against the presidential election results demanding the resignation of the Belarusian president, Alexander Lukashenko, and the release of political prisoners, in Minsk, Belarus, on August 16, 2020. #
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Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the opposition candidate for the presidential elections, poses for photographers as she casts her ballot at a polling station during the presidential election in Minsk on August 9, 2020. #
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A protester raises a clenched fist with a white ribbon, a symbol of protest, as other people gather to pay their respects to a protester who died amid clashes with the police, in Minsk, on August 11, 2020. #
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People greet each other waving flowers and white balloons, gathering in a street in Minsk to protest against the results of the country's presidential election, on August 13, 2020. #
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Employees of the Minsk Automobile Plant applaud as they attend a rally to express their solidarity with opposition supporters, who accuse strongman Alexander Lukashenko of falsifying the polls, on August 14, 2020. #
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A demonstrator makes a heart gesture near the Government House in Independence Square during a protest rally against police violence in central Minsk on August 14, 2020. #
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Workers with handmade posters reading "Go away!" march toward the Minsk Wheel Tractor Plant where the Belarusian president, Alexander Lukashenko, addressed employees in Minsk on August 17, 2020. #
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Belarusian opposition supporters hold flowers and flash victory signs during a protest in Victory Square in Minsk, Belarus, on August 20, 2020. Demonstrators continued to take to the streets of the Belarusian capital and other cities, keeping up their push for the resignation of the nation's authoritarian leader. #
Sergei Grits / AP
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