٠٠:٠٣:٠٩Incumbent Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said that people made queues in front of polling stations to block their work, at a press conference in Minsk on Monday.
He added that he asked the Central Election Commission to extend the vote to not allow the protesters to appeal the election results.
Lukashenko justified force used against protesters as a response to reported attacks on police, saying "around 25 guys from the riot police were injured. There are broken arms and legs."
He stressed that there were attempts to seize power in the country, adding that in the south of the country border guards had to intervene.
“They sent 200-300 people south. In the south, they surrounded the District Executive Committee, the border guards had to intervene,” he said.
Speaking about the joint headquarters of opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, Lukashenko stressed that "we had to allocate 120 people to control the situation around the office," where 55 people gathered, including members of staff and opposition journalists.
The protests started on Sunday after the exit poll results were announced. Around 3,000 people were detained in several different cities, including more than 1,500 alone in the capital city of Minsk, according to the Interior Ministry. The Belarus Central Electoral Commission (CEC) announced the preliminary results of the election on Monday, showing that incumbent Lukashenko received more than 80 percent of the ballots. His main opponent Svetlana Tikhanovskaya got less than 10 percent of the vote, according to the CEC.
Belarus: Queues were made to block polling stations - Lukashenko
Incumbent Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said that people made queues in front of polling stations to block their work, at a press conference in Minsk on Monday.
He added that he asked the Central Election Commission to extend the vote to not allow the protesters to appeal the election results.
Lukashenko justified force used against protesters as a response to reported attacks on police, saying "around 25 guys from the riot police were injured. There are broken arms and legs."
He stressed that there were attempts to seize power in the country, adding that in the south of the country border guards had to intervene.
“They sent 200-300 people south. In the south, they surrounded the District Executive Committee, the border guards had to intervene,” he said.
Speaking about the joint headquarters of opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, Lukashenko stressed that "we had to allocate 120 people to control the situation around the office," where 55 people gathered, including members of staff and opposition journalists.
The protests started on Sunday after the exit poll results were announced. Around 3,000 people were detained in several different cities, including more than 1,500 alone in the capital city of Minsk, according to the Interior Ministry. The Belarus Central Electoral Commission (CEC) announced the preliminary results of the election on Monday, showing that incumbent Lukashenko received more than 80 percent of the ballots. His main opponent Svetlana Tikhanovskaya got less than 10 percent of the vote, according to the CEC.
Incumbent Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said that people made queues in front of polling stations to block their work, at a press conference in Minsk on Monday.
He added that he asked the Central Election Commission to extend the vote to not allow the protesters to appeal the election results.
Lukashenko justified force used against protesters as a response to reported attacks on police, saying "around 25 guys from the riot police were injured. There are broken arms and legs."
He stressed that there were attempts to seize power in the country, adding that in the south of the country border guards had to intervene.
“They sent 200-300 people south. In the south, they surrounded the District Executive Committee, the border guards had to intervene,” he said.
Speaking about the joint headquarters of opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, Lukashenko stressed that "we had to allocate 120 people to control the situation around the office," where 55 people gathered, including members of staff and opposition journalists.
The protests started on Sunday after the exit poll results were announced. Around 3,000 people were detained in several different cities, including more than 1,500 alone in the capital city of Minsk, according to the Interior Ministry. The Belarus Central Electoral Commission (CEC) announced the preliminary results of the election on Monday, showing that incumbent Lukashenko received more than 80 percent of the ballots. His main opponent Svetlana Tikhanovskaya got less than 10 percent of the vote, according to the CEC.