Lukashenko
© Press service of the President of the Republic BelarusLukashenko begins his 6th term as President of Belarus P
Lukashenko garnered the support of 80 percent of voters in the 9 August election, according to the official results, which were widely rejected by the opposition as falsified. The controversial outcome of the vote has caused nationwide protests.

Alexander Lukashenko has been inaugurated as the president of Belarus, Belta News Agency reported Wednesday. The official ceremony at the Independence Palace was attended by several hundred people, including senior lawmakers, top executives of state organisations as well as scientists, artists and athletes.

The media outlet said that Lukashenko put his hand on the constitution and took an oath in the Belarusian language. He then received the certificate of the President of Belarus from the chair of the Central Electoral Commission. The president, who entered his sixth term, said that he was assuming the office with pride for Belarusians
"who had the courage of their convictions. I cannot, have no right to leave behind the Belarusians who linked their political sympathies, their fate, the future of their children to the government's course."
Lukashenko won a sixth term in office by a landslide on 9 August, although Belarus's opposition has not recognised the results of the election. Several weeks of opposition protests have been held in Belarus's major cities since the vote was held.