Belarus president sworn in at unannounced inaugural ceremony

KYIV, Ukraine — President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus was sworn in Wednesday to his sixth term in office at an inaugural ceremony that was not announced in advance amid weeks of huge protests of the authoritarian leader’s reelection, which the opposition says was rigged. One opposition leader called the secretive ceremony “a farce,” and several European countries reiterated that they don’t recognize the results of the election and refuse to regard Lukashenko as the legitimate president. “Even after this ceremony today, Mr. Lukashenko cannot claim democratic legitimization, which would be the condition to recognize him as the legitimate president of Belarus,” said Steffen Seibert, spokesman for German Chancellor Angela Merkel. In neighboring Poland, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki called for an “honest election,” saying on Facebook that the secretive nature of the swearing in ”only confirms that Lukashenko is aware of what he has done, rigging the results of the election.” “He is aware that he has no backing from his own nation and that the aggression that he is allowing himself against the people of Belarus is inadmissible,” Morawiecki said. The result is therefore illegitimate, which is why today’s inauguration of Alexander Lukashenko is also illegitimate.” Latvian Foreign Ministry press secretary Janis Bekeris told the Baltic News Service agency that they believe the unexpected inauguration will only deepen the Belarus political crisis, and Latvia will “leave open diplomatic channels for cooperation with Belarus at the technical level.” The Kremlin refused to comment on the inauguration.