MINSK, November 25./TASS/. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Monday that the Belarusian opposition, which as he is informed is financed by the US and Germany, is spending money on mansions and luxury cars.
The president voiced his opinion as he met on Monday with the foreign ministers of Sweden and Finland, Ann Linde and Pekka Haavisto. "I am saying - don’t give them the money. They (Western countries - TASS) are giving money, while they are buying cars and building mansions. Sizable amounts of money come, we all see them, and if we don’t see something, then the Russians will hint where it (the money for the opposition) comes from," Lukashenko said.
"Usually via Lithuania and Poland. Americans, Germans are financing them," he added. "They have a good life," the president added, expressing doubts that Belarusian oppositionists are seeking to get into whatever government agencies.
According to Lukashenko, the foreign ministers of Sweden and Finland were interested to learn at the talks why there had been no ‘pro-Western oppositionists’ among the candidates making it into the parliament. "I am not the reason why," he said. "If people don’t support them, what can I do?" he asked.
Elections to the Belarusian parliament’s lower house were held on Sunday in all constituencies, all 110 members of the legislative body were elected. Voter turnout was 77.22%, exceeding the 2016 ballot by 3%. None of the opposition was able to gain any seats in the legislature. Monitors from the OSCE and PACE argued that the parliamentary elections in Belarus were neither transparent nor democratic.
Meanwhile, observers from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union of Belarus and Russia agreed that the election had been organized at a high level and in conformity with all international rules. Over 1,000 international observers were accredited.