Belarus’ president rules out repeat election, warns country’s existence at stake

Belarus’ President Alexander Lukashenko has rejected calls for a new election, warning that foreign powers aim to destabilize the country, as former presidential candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya declared "readiness to become a national leader."

Lukashenko said on Monday that there would be no new presidential election despite calls from the opposition and anti-government protesters, the Belta news agency reported.

“You should never expect me to do something under pressure… [A new election] won’t happen,” he was quoted as saying.

Shortly after official results showed the incumbent president had won a sixth consecutive term in the election last Sunday, violent clashes erupted between police and protesters opposed to the results. Official results showed the incumbent president won over 80 percent of the vote.

‘NATO tanks rattling tracks at our door!’

Addressing a massive gathering of pro-government demonstrators in the capital, Minsk, on Sunday, the Belarusian president urged the nation to “defend your country, independence and families.”

He said that Belarus would cease to exists as a country if authorities conceded to the demands for a new election. He warned that NATO was “rattling tank tracks at our doors.”

“(NATO) tanks and jets are on standby within 15 minutes’ reach of our borders. This is not for nothing. NATO forces are rattling tank tracks at our doors. Military power is building up on the western border of our country. Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, and unfortunately our brother Ukraine, its leadership, are telling us to hold a new election,” he said.

The Belarusian government has rejected allegations of vote-rigging in the presidential election, saying it has evidence of foreign interference in the internal affairs of Belarus.

ME