Sergei Kuznetsov and Laurenz Gehrke, Politico: Lukashenko wins Belarus election as protests sweep the country
The crackdown after the election is putting pressure on the EU to act.
MINSK — Authoritarian incumbent President Aleksander Lukashenko won Belarus' presidential election, according to a preliminary vote count released Monday morning, as dozens of people were injured in protests across the country in what the opposition denounced as a fraudulent vote.
Lukashenko won 80.23 percent of the vote in Sunday's election, according to preliminary results from the country's Central Election Commission (CEC). Opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya won 9.9 percent. Turnout was reported as 84.23 percent.
Protesters took to the streets immediately after polls closed on Sunday evening — with a government-controlled exit poll predicting an overwhelming Lukashenko victory. The nation's ministry of internal affairs said Monday that "more than 50 civilians" were injured in clashes with police, who used stun grenades and water cannons to clear the streets. According to the ministry, 3,000 protesters were detained on Sunday, two-thirds of them in Minsk.
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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- August 11, 2020
A Color Revolution in Belarus? Not Yet. -- Gennady Rudkevich, Moscow Times
Belarus protests pose a real threat to Lukashenko -- Christian F. Trippe, DW
Belarus on the brink? Unloved in Moscow, a pariah again in the West & facing protests at home, Lukashenko is running out of road -- Paul Robinson, RT
Revolution or repression? Belarus stands at a crossroads -- Shaun alker, The Guardian
In Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko will do anything to cling on to power -- Katsiaryna Shmatsina, The Guardian
Let’s Face it, China Is Its Own Worst Enemy -- Doug Bandow, The American Conservative
The Prospects of a China-Iran Axis -- Amos Yadlin and Ari Heistein, War On The Rocks
Moscow boosts ties with Tehran as US-Iran tensions escalate -- Daniel Hoffman, Al-Monitor
Special Report: Lebanon’s power struggle – why a failing state can’t get the lights on -- Tom Perry, Ellen Francis, Reuters
Is the US-Saudi Arabia relationship falling apart? -- Al Jazeera
In Afghanistan, Taliban gives with one hand and takes away with the other -- Ruchi Kumar, The National
Sudan at a Crossroads: A Humanitarian Opening? -- Jacob Kurtzer, CSIS
Joe Biden has missed two deadlines to name a running mate to take on Donald Trump. Why is he taking so long? -- Peter Marsh and Emily Olson, ABC News Online
Technology is driving another global power shift -- Joseph S. Nye, The Strategist
This Cold War-era missile silo is the ultimate fixer-upper -- Sarah Sicard, Military Times
