More than 2,000 people arrested in Belarus protests

More than 2,000 protesters were arrested in many cities across the country, Belarussian Interior Ministry said.

Preliminary count by the Central Election Commission claims that the incumbent Lukashenka won 82% of the vote. However, opposition candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya declared herself the winner of the elections and called on Lukashenko to start negotiations, meanwhile, her campaign team stated that they were ready to hold "long-term protests" against the official results.

Incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko has been leading the country since the first presidential elections held in 1994, and is described by the West as leading an authoritarian dictatorship following a consolidation of power shortly thereafter.

Opposition activists are often pressured or detained by the government, and Lukashenko or those loyal to him control (as of 2019) all of the seats in both houses of the National Assembly, all judicial appointments, the media, and the Central Election Commission, which has the power to approve or deny candidates for political offices. (ILKHA)