In the presidential elections in Belarus, the current head of state, Alexander Lukashenko, is projected to receive 87.6 percent of the votes, according to exit polls. This was reported on Sunday evening by Pavel Alekso, the chairman of the Belarusian Committee of Youth Organizations, during a broadcast on the "First Information" channel, as conveyed by Tengrinews.kz.
"Oleg Gaydukevich received 1.8 percent of the votes from those surveyed, Anna Kanopatskaya garnered 1.6 percent, Alexander Lukashenko got 87.6 percent, Sergey Syryankov collected 2.7 percent of the votes from the surveyed voters, Alexander Khizhnyak had 1.2 percent, and 5.1 percent voted against all," Alekso stated.
According to him, around a thousand interviewers worked at 320 polling stations across the republic, surveying approximately 12,000 voters. The Central Election Commission reported that voter turnout for the presidential elections was 81.5 percent as of 6:00 PM.
On Sunday, January 26, presidential elections were held in Belarus. It is expected that the incumbent head of state, Alexander Lukashenko, will be re-elected for a new, seventh term. The 70-year-old Lukashenko has been in power in Belarus since 1994.
On January 22, the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling on the international community to reject the presidential elections "as fictitious" and to continue the policy of not recognizing Lukashenko's legitimacy as head of state.
Lukashenko stated that it does not matter to him whether the European Union recognizes the outcome of the presidential elections.
"Whether you recognize these elections in the European Union or not is a matter of taste. Believe me, I swear, I absolutely do not care whether you recognize our elections or not," he said at a press conference on the day of voting on Sunday, January 26.
"What matters to me is that the Belarusians recognize these elections and that they end peacefully, just as they began. That is the main thing. As for you, it's your business. If you recognize it, we will respond and thank you," Lukashenko's words were quoted by the Belarusian state agency BelTA.