The outcome of the Belarus presidential elections was declared on 9 August. The official results gave Alexander Lukashenko 80 per cent of the vote and Svetlana Tikhanovskaya 10 per cent. The results were recognised by Russia, China, Vietnam, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Armenia and all other former republics of the USSR apart from Georgia, ukraine and the three Baltic republics. The results were challenged by the opposition, by the EU and the united States. The opposition, claiming victory, immediately set up a Coordination Committee to oversee the transfer of power.
Since the elections there have been regular opposition mobilisations in the main cities of Belarus, involving some workplaces, during which it is reported that a number of demonstrators have been killed or injured by security forces and many arrested. These mobilisations are claimed to involve many thousands.
The notes below are intended to provide some background to these events…continued