"This charade, a reoccurring event, which will happen on 26 January, will not resemble elections in any way. The corrupt regime is simply demonstrating to the world how it can punish everyone who opposes its will. And this tendency started much earlier than in 2020," Budrys said at a press conference on Thursday.
According to him, real elections in Belarus will not take place in January nor any time soon.
Belarusian strongman Alexander Lukashenko is expected to be declared the winner of the presidential race staged for 26 January. Lukashenko, 70, is a loyal ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin and a supporter of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
His re-election for the sixth term in 2020 caused unprecedented protests. The opposition and the West accused him of rigging the election and taking away the victory from his rival Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. Several thousands of protesters and Lukashenko’s opponents were imprisoned.