Last month, Belarus’s powerful KGB security service orchestrated a series of raids which rights group said had targeted the families of political prisoners.
There are currently 1,419 political detainees in Belarusian jails, according to leading human rights group Viasna.
Exiled opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya posted a video on social media dismissing Sunday’s elections.
“Let’s be clear: the regime’s attempt to use these fake elections to legitimise its power will not be successful,” Tikhanovskaya said.
“The people of Belarus see through this sham,” she said, urging the international community not to recognise the outcome of the ballot.
The United States also slammed the vote as “sham parliamentary elections” on Sunday.
“Impossible to hold free and fair elections in a climate of fear and with 1400+ political prisoners. We support the democratic aspirations of the Belarusian people,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on X, formerly Twitter.
Lukashenko has thrown his closed east European country into even deeper isolation since he allowed Russia to use Belarusian territory to launch its Ukraine offensive two years ago.
The Minsk regime relies heavily on Moscow for political and economic support.
“We will always be together with Russia,” Lukashenko said on Sunday.
