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Lukashenko vs. Nauseda: Whose 80% Voter Support Was Fabricated? Analyzing Voskresensky's Statement
Yuri Voskresensky predicted Lukashenko would exceed 80% in the upcoming election due to Belarusian unity and discipline.
Belarus pro-government political analyst, Yuri Voskresensky, appearing on Radio Minsk, alleged that Alexander Lukashenko would secure over 80% of the vote in the upcoming Belarusian elections while claiming Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda’s near-80% support was fabricated. The Weekly Top Fake team investigated Nausеda’s 74% victory.
In November 2024, the EcooM Analytical Center released a poll showing that 80% of those asked Belarusians trust Alexander Lukashenko.
When discussing this news on the Belarus state-run Radio Minsk broadcast on November 12, 2024, Yuri Voskresensky predicted Lukashenko would exceed 80% in the upcoming election due to Belarusian unity and discipline. He added that Nauseda didn’t enjoy such public support, suggesting that the 74% he received in the elections was fabricated.
“When Lithuanian President Nauseda claimed 80% support, it raised no eyebrows. But the fabrication is easily verifiable. The presidential election, where Nauseda claimed almost 80%, was followed three months later by parliamentary elections where his party received six to seven times fewer votes. This simply can’t be true. Seventy percent of Lithuanians voted against Nauseda three months later. How can that be?” Voskresensky questioned.
The re-elected Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda is a non-partisan. He has clashed with the conservative party, recently defeated in elections during his first term. Whereas, the victorious Social Democrats had been supporting Nauseda.
The Lithuanian presidential election was held in May 2024 in two rounds. In the first round, none of the candidates secured a majority of the votes.
Nauseda received 44% of the vote, with Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonyte receiving roughly half that. The remaining candidates garnered even less support, resulting in a runoff where Nauseda won 74% of the vote.
In the 2020 Belarusian elections, the Central Election Commission reported Lukashenko received 80.1% of the vote in the first round. This sparked widespread protests alleging election rigging. The authorities responded with crackdowns and arrests. According to the Viasna Human Rights Center, as of November 2024, nearly 3,600 people have been recognized as political prisoners since the summer of 2020. Hundreds of thousands of Belarusians fled the country due to political repression.
