MINSK, August 14. /TASS/. The campaign office of Belarusian presidential candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya does not recognize the victory of incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko in the election held on August 9, Tikhanovskaya’s spokesperson Anna Krasulina told TASS on Friday.
"The fact the data is official does not mean that it reflects the real situation and the choice of the people. They (the Belarusian government - TASS) still do not understand that the situation has changed radically. The announcement of the official results does not affect our further actions," Krasulina said.
Earlier on Thursday, Tikhanovskaya said in a video address that she had received 60-70%, and in some cases up to 90% of the vote at the polling stations where the ballots were counted fairly. She said that in her opinion, the majority of the nation does not believe the official results. She stressed the importance of human life, condemning violence.
Belarus held a presidential election on August 9. According to the final results provided by the Belarusian Central Election Commission on August 14, incumbent President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko got 80.10% of the vote. Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who was considered his main opponent, came in second with 10.12%.
After exit poll results were announced in the evening of August 9, protests erupted in downtown Minsk and other regions of the country, leading to clashes between protesters and the law enforcement. The protests continued over the following days. As a result, several thousand people were detained while dozens of police officers and protesters were injured.