Alexander Lukashenko, the President of Belarus, stated during his inauguration in Minsk that the country has built a sovereign state based on the “dictatorship of real achievements” and national interests. According to the head of state, who is starting his seventh term, half the world is seeking the same model.
Lukashenko referred to himself as a fortunate president, surrounded by like-minded individuals who love their homeland. He emphasized the success of Belarus in terms of freedom of opinion and also pointed out that the country has more democracy than some of the countries that claim to have it. He further stated that the half of the world is dreaming of Belarus’s dictatorship, a dictatorship of real achievements and the interests of its people.
However, the president warned that freedom of speech should not be used as a means to destroy the country or the heritage of numerous generations of Belarusians.
Lukashenko was declared the winner of the presidential election on January 26, with around 86% of the votes, according to the Central Election Commission, which was announced in early February. No other candidate received more than 5% of the votes. Lukashenko is the only head of state of the country since its declaration of independence in 1991.
Following the presidential election in 2020, mass protests broke out after the opposition accused the authorities of a comprehensive electoral fraud. Minsk denied the accusations and insisted that the unrest was orchestrated by the United States and European states, as well as neighboring Ukraine.