Dozens of people have been injured and thousands detained in the country since Sunday’s controversial vote, with police brutally breaking up mostly young protesters
People argue with police during a rally after the Belarusian presidential election in Minsk, Belarus, late Sunday, Aug. 9, 2020.Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne says Canada is “deeply concerned” by a violent crackdown following presidential elections in Belarus.
The protests came as Belarusian election officials said authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko had won a sixth term in office with 80 per cent of the vote.Election officials say opposition challenger Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya received 10 per cent of the vote, but she has dismissed the official results as a sham and requested a formal recount.
Champagne said the police response “further eroded the democratic legitimacy of the vote,” and he called for the results to reflect what Belarusians want for their country. “Free, fair and inclusive elections are critical to any functioning democracy,” he added, saying Canada had already expressed its concern ahead of the election over the arrests of opposition candidates, prominent bloggers and activists who took part in peaceful protests.
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