Alexander Lukashenko, the authoritarian president of Belarus since 20 July 1994, has been re-elected to lead his country. According to official figures, strongly disputed by the opposition, the leader of the Eastern European nation is said to have obtained 80.23 per cent of the vote. His main rival, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, is said to have received just 9.9 per cent.

The wife of an arrested blogger who challenged Lukashenko for the presidency

Together with two other women, Tikhanovskaya had been counting on defeating Lukashenko. Over recent months she had managed to mobilise a significant number of Belarusian citizens. This was despite the repression, which led the authorities to arrest some of her supporters, as well as her campaign manager — all justified on the official grounds of an alleged plot orchestrated by the opposition with the support of Russian mercenaries.

Tikhanovskaya, a 37-year-old English teacher, did not, however, give in to fear. Despite the fate of her husband Sergei, a blogger imprisoned in May. And despite the insults from Lukashenko, who called her a "poor little girl".

One dead, dozens injured and thousands arrested in Belarus

In the capital Minsk, violent protests erupted at the moment the election results were announced. These gave rise to clashes with police during which one person died and dozens were injured, according to information released by the human rights defence non-governmental organisation Viasna.

The Belarusian Interior Ministry itself confirmed the scale of the protests, speaking of "approximately three thousand people arrested" and of "unauthorised" demonstrations in 33 cities across the country.

The opposition to Lukashenko speaks of widespread fraud

At the international level, the German chancellery spoke of "doubts about the conduct and democratic character of the vote". Meanwhile the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, spoke of "persecutions and violent repression of peaceful demonstrations" that "should not be happening in Europe".

Tikhanovskaya herself spoke of "widespread fraud" and called for a recount of ballot papers at polling stations where problems had been identified. Lukashenko, for his part, spoke of an international manoeuvre against his re-election, pointing the finger in particular at the United Kingdom, Poland and the Czech Republic.