Russian election results won’t have serious impact on Belarus – pundit

February 18, Pozirk. Last week’s presidential election in Russia will have no serious impact on Belarus, Radyjo Svaboda‘s political observer Valer Karbalevič told Pozirk.

“There was nothing unexpected or surprising about the presidential election in Russia. It went as planned and expected, convincing Łukašenka that the elections should be held in a less democratic environment than in 2020 and that he should not allow any democratic games,” Karbalevič said.

Reports on the election give us no insight into the turnout or the actual vote, he said. The official result only reflects the support for Vladimir Putin that his government wants; as with the Belarusian parliamentary elections in February, it is unclear how real they are, he added.

Asked about foreign correspondents working in Russia during the elections but not in Belarus, Karbalevič said: “Łukašenka has been willing to give interviews to foreign media after 2020. Besides, for leading foreign news agencies the events in Russia are important and in Belarus, are not.”

The Russian authorities announced the election results that legitimized Putin’s domestic and foreign policy, first of all his war against Ukraine, Karbalevič continued. That is why, according to the expert, they reported a very high turnout and number of supporters.

“Indeed, Russia has never had the share of Putin voters exceeding 80 percent. It was believed that if more than 80 percent support the candidate, the election is undemocratic. Now they have kissed this belief goodbye to report 87 percent,” he said.

“Łukašenka likes this model and this election outcome, and he does not hide it. Nor does he hide his moral, political, diplomatic and economic support for Russia and Putin in the war against Ukraine,” he noted.

Earlier, Alaksandar Łukašenka said the main lesson of the Russian presidential election is not to impose foreign will on the Belarusians and the Russians. He congratulated Putin on the “convincing victory” and the “stunning result.”

According to the Russian Central Election Commission, Putin won 87.29 percent of the vote, up 10.6 percent from 2018.

Belarus’ top election official Ihar Karpienka, who observed the election in Moscow, called it fair, competitive and in line with democratic standards.