The media in the authoritarian country have declared 80% victory for the country's incumbent president since 1994 • Mighty army forces deployed in the capital Minsk to prevent demonstrations

• President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko // Photo: AFP

The Belarusian media have declared victory for incumbent Alexander Lukashenko, with nearly 80 percent of the vote cast, after a stormy election campaign in which tens of thousands of opposition supporters marched against Lukashenko's rule. 

Hundreds of military vehicles and thousands of soldiers were flown by the regime into the capital Minsk and military forces were seen manning checkpoints throughout the capital, with the aim of preventing demonstrations against the election result. At least ten protesters have been arrested as polling stations close as reports of sporadic demonstrations in the capital continue to arrive, despite the disruption of the country’s internet network. 

During the day, order was maintained in the country and long queues were observed outside the polls, a testament to the hope that ignited the election campaign in the opposition and among the youth in the country. 

A wave of arrests of journalists and opposition figures took place yesterday. Videos posted on social media showed Secret Service personnel arresting journalists and putting them in unmarked vehicles. Spokeswoman for the leading opposition candidate, Svetlana Tikhanovsky, was arrested. The candidate herself went underground and her location is unknown at this time. 

Tykhanovskaya has managed to present the aging dictator with an aggressive election campaign with huge rallies of tens of thousands of participants, in a country where freedom of association is restricted and protesters are frequently arrested and beaten. Tikhanovskaya decided to run after her husband, a prominent and popular candidate, was disqualified from participating in the race by the election committee controlled by Lukashenko. 

Belarus has been under Lukashenko for more than a quarter of a century, holding large parts of the local economy in conditions similar to those that served in the Soviet Union and running the country like a Soviet republic in a non-existent Soviet Union. He usually appears in military uniform for military parades and the secret police suppresses any sign of public disagreement with the government.