Dominic Raab slams ‘fraudulent’ Belarus presidential election and says the UK ‘does not accept the results’ as protests against ‘rigged’ poll continue
- Foreign Secretary issued statement today denouncing Belarus election result
- Dominic Raab said the vote was ‘fraudulent’ and called for urgent investigation
- Mr Raab also hit out at Belarusian authorities for ‘violent’ crackdown on protests
Dominic Raab today announced the UK ‘does not the accept the results’ of the ‘fraudulent’ Belarus presidential election as mass protests over the poll continued.
The Foreign Secretary also hit out at the ‘violence used by the Belarusian authorities to suppress’ peaceful demonstrations that have followed the vote.
Protests against the rule of Alexander Lukashenko remain ongoing after he claimed victory at the August 9 election which critics at home and abroad have insisted was rigged.
Official results said the strongman leader of the former Soviet republic had received 80 per cent of the vote.
Dominic Raab, pictured in London on July 21, said today that the UK does not accept the result of the Belarus presidential election
Mr Raab said the election result was ‘fraudulent’ as he also condemned violent crackdowns on protests. An opposition demonstration is pictured in Minsk today
The European Union said three days ago that it it did not recognise the result in Belarus.
Mr Raab today echoed the bloc as he also called for an independent investigation by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
He said in a statement: ‘The world has watched with horror at the violence used by the Belarusian authorities to suppress the peaceful protests that followed this fraudulent presidential election.
‘The UK does not accept the results.
‘We urgently need an independent investigation through the OSCE into the flaws that rendered the election unfair, as well as the grisly repression that followed.
‘The UK will work with our international partners to sanction those responsible, and hold the Belarusian authorities to account.’
Mr Lukashenko has ruled the ex-Soviet nation with an iron fist since 1994, repressing opposition figures and independent news organisations.
Democracy campaigners and protestors have called for the election to be re-run.
But Mr Lukashenko has rejected any possibility of repeating the vote that gave him a sixth term.
He has also lashed out at the West and declared his country will ‘perish as a state’ if the result is not accepted.
Russia has said it is willing to intervene to protect Mr Lukashenko under the terms of an existing military pact with Belarus amid mounting tensions.
Opposition leaders have said they are ready to take over if the leader is toppled by the protests, which drew up to 200,000 people in Minsk yesterday.