Lengthy-time chief of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, as soon as dubbed “Europe’s final dictator”, has been re-elected president with 86.8% of the vote.
The end result has been condemned as a sham by Lukashenko’s opponents and Western governments.
There have been 4 different names on the poll – fastidiously chosen to current no problem to the present management – and no credible contenders have been allowed to participate within the election, as all opposition figures are both in jail or in exile overseas.
In a mammoth four-and-a-half hour press convention, the BBC’s Russia editor Steve Rosenberg requested questions on democracy and political prisoners.