Belarusian President Lukashenko Sworn Into Office

by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org - Home - Stephen Lendman)

On August 9, incumbent Belarusian President Lukashenko was legitimately reelected by a near-62% majority, a landslide by any standard — his closest rival Svetlana Tikhanovskaya receiving only 25% support.

He won. She lost, nothing illegitimate about the results — other than the unnecessary artificially inflated margin of victory to an 80% - 10% victory margin.

On Wednesday, Lukashenko was sworn into office ahead of schedule because of made-in-the-USA street protests that continue.

According to the Belarus Telegraph Agency, "members of the House of Representatives and the Council of the Republic, heads of government bodies and organizations, local executive and executive bodies, the national media, scientists, figures of culture and sports" attended the inaugural ceremony in Minsk's Palace of Independence.

In remarks following his inauguration, Lukashenko said the following:

"We pledge our allegiance to the motherland in the year of the 75th anniversary of the Great (WW II) Victory." 

"This sacred date reminds us that devotion to the fatherland and willingness to give our lives for freedom is in Belarusians' DNA." 

"Today Belarus is behind us. We will do everything to preserve the most important thing — peace on our land." 

"The peace the country paid for by millions of lives of selfless warriors, their mothers, fathers, wives and children."

He thanked Belarusian security forces for "sav(ing) the peace…defend(ing) the sovereignty and independence of our country" against a "hybrid revolutionary scenario" orchestrated by foreign dark forces.

Their diabolical plot "did not work, and it never will," he added.

Tikhanovskaya is a US-designated puppet-in-waiting, a Belarusian Guaido with no legitimacy.

Plucked from obscurity to serve US imperial interests, her remarks when recited are scripted by coup-plotting dark forces in Washington.

Unacceptably invited to address the US coup-supporting Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Parliamentary Assembly on Wednesday, she defied reality, saying:

Lukashenko's "inauguration is an attempt to seize power (sic)," adding:

"It also means that after today, (he's) neither a legal nor a legitimate head of Belarus (sic)."

In cahoots with the US coup plot to replace Lukashenko with pro-Western puppet rule, the Trump regime, EU countries, and the bloc's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell no longer recognize him as Belarusian president — despite his legitimate reelection.

Borrell defied reality, saying "(t)he situation is clear for us (sic)." 

"We consider the elections of August 9 fraudulent (sic)." 

"We don't recognize Lukashenko as the legitimate president of Belarus (sic)."

On Wednesday, State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said the following:

The Trump regime "cannot consider Aleksander Lukashenko the legitimately elected leader of Belarus (sic)." 

"The path forward should be a national dialogue leading to the Belarusian people enjoying their right to choose their leaders in a free and fair election under independent observation (sic)."

Angela Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert issued this statement following Lukashenko's Wednesday inauguration:

"Even after this ceremony today, Mr. Lukashenko cannot claim democratic legitimization (sic), which would be the condition to recognize him as the legitimate president of Belarus (sic)."

Reciting lines scripted by her US handlers from Vilnius, Lithuania, Tikhanovskaya said the following on Wednesday:

"I, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, am the only leader that has been elected by the Belarusian people (sic). And our goal right now is to build the new Belarus together (sic)."

Ahead of the country's August 9 presidential election, Russia and Belarus invited the OSCE to monitor and verify its open, free and fair process.

At a meeting with Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) chairman Sergey Lebedev, he said the following:

"Russia and we invited the OSCE to work out the standards - but they don't want to."

Lebedev headed the August 9 presidential election CIS observers mission.

He slammed the OSCE for "want(ing) to impose (its) own rules on us, but there is a law." 

"The election was held in Belarus in accordance with the law, was competitive and public," he explained, Lukashenko legitimately reelected.

On Wednesday, Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called Lukashenko's inauguration "an absolutely sovereign, internal decision of the Belarusian leadership."

Ahead of Wednesday's ceremony, Vladimir Putin, China's Xi Jinping, and leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkey, and Vietnam congratulated Lukashenko on his legitimate reelection.

VISIT MY WEBSITE: stephenlendman.org (Home - Stephen Lendman). Contact at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

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