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Lukashenko's Biggest Election Opponent: the Internet

Anna Plotnikova

   In the closing days of the Belarus presidential election campaign,
   opposition candidates are holding mass rallies and incumbent President
   Alexander Lukashenko is visiting businesses, giving speeches to the
   Security Council and government -- and lashing out at the news media.

   During a meeting with campaign staff, Lukashenko railed at local and
   international media, saying the Belarussian edition of Russian daily
   Komsomolskaya Pravda "will soon turn into a tabloid" and accusing
   foreign outlets, including the BBC and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty,
   of being biased and calling for riots.

   Lukashenko, who has been in power for 26 years, asked the Foreign
   Ministry to intervene.

   "There is no need whatsoever to wait until the end of the election
   campaign. Get them out of here if they do not comply with our laws and
   call people to Maidans," he said on July 23, referring to mass protests
   in Ukraine in 2013 over the country's move away from the European
   Union.

   In the months leading up to the August 9 vote, journalists and bloggers
   in Belarus have been arrested, harassed and even deported as Lukashenko
   faces an unexpectedly tough election amid discontent with the economy
   and his poor handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

   The president, who says he [1]tested positive for the virus, kept the
   country open and early on recommended fighting the virus with saunas
   and vodka.

References

   1. https://www.dw.com/en/belarus-president-alexander-lukashenko-says-he-had-asymptomatic-coronavirus/a-54359002

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