Berlin says Belarusians had 'no choice' in election

Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Sunday that Belarus's voters had "no choice" in elections widely expected to be won by ruling autocrat Alexander Lukashenko.

Sunday's vote was a "bitter day for all those who long for freedom and democracy", Baerbock said in a post on social media.

"The people of Belarus had no choice. Instead of free and fair elections and a life without fear and arbitrariness, they experience oppression, repression and human rights violations on a daily basis," she said.

With the vote, Lukashenko was set to extend his three decades of rule in Moscow-allied Belarus.

The Belarusian leader has presided over a massive crackdown ever since suppressing giant protests following his contested reelection in 2020.

According to the Viasna rights group, Belarus currently has 1,245 political prisoners. Tens of thousands meanwhile fled Belarus in 2020 and 2021, mostly to Poland and Lithuania, as the KGB security service launched the massive crackdown.

"All political prisoners must be released and the brutal repression must end," Baerbock said.

"The European family keeps its doors open –- for a Belarus that is democratic and free," she said.