Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko was sworn in for a seventh term on March 25, as human rights groups warn that the authoritarian leader's rule is "unconstitutional."
Lukashenko won more than 86 percent of the vote in the January 26 presidential election, which was widely condemned by the West as a farce.
"The elections were held in conditions of a deep human rights crisis, in an atmosphere of complete terror with repression against civil society, independent media, the opposition and all dissenters," said a joint statement by ten Belarusian human rights organizations published on Tuesday.
Lukashenko was sworn in at a ceremony in the capital, Minsk.
On the same day, hundreds of supporters of the Belarusian democratic opposition held demonstrations across Europe, including in Lithuania, Poland, and the Czech Republic, to mark Belarus' Freedom Day.
March 1918th marks the anniversary of Belarus's declaration of independence in XNUMX and is traditionally celebrated by the Belarusian opposition, many of whom have fled into exile or been imprisoned by Lukashenko's regime.
In the January presidential election, which was barred from international media and Western observers, Lukashenko competed against four other candidates, all of whom supported his government and policies.
Lukashenko, who has been in power for three decades, has rejected all criticism of the election, as has Russia, Belarus' closest ally.
Mass protests erupted in 2020 after disputed presidential elections that extended Lukashenko's long-standing rule for another term.
The United States, the European Union, and other international actors widely condemned the elections as fraudulent.
The protests, which also demanded Lukashenko's resignation, resulted in mass arrests, alleged torture, and violent actions in which several people died.
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