Belarussian Leader, Sworn In for Second Term, Blasts West
President Alexander G. Lukashenko began his second term Thursday by assailing the West for refusing to recognize his election, which both the U.S. and the European Union have said was neither free nor fair.
Deemed “Europe’s last dictator” by Washington, Lukashenko won more than 75% of the vote in the Sept. 9 election. At an inauguration ceremony attended by 2,000 officials and guests, he insisted that the vote reflected the will of the Belarussian people.
“I urge you to take a realistic approach,” Lukashenko said after taking the presidential oath. “You must respect the great Belarussian people who have made their choice.”
Lukashenko has run the former Soviet republic since 1994, extending his original five-year term by an additional two years in a 1996 referendum that the West also called fraudulent.
International observers said the latest campaign was marred by media interference and a lack of control over early voting procedures.
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