Tikhanovskaya: Constitutional Referendum Unlikely to Change Anything in Belarus

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Belarusian opposition leader in exile, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, called the upcoming referendum on amendments to the Belarusian constitution "illegal" on Saturday, saying that it will not change anything in the country.

"This so-called referendum will not change anything in our country. It will also worsen the situation… People did not ask for referendum. People asked for new elections… It [the referendum] is illegal, the same as [Belarusian President Alexander] Lukashenko," Tikhanovskaya said at the Munich security conference.

The referendum will not give the Belarusian people alternative, according to the former presidential hopeful.

"We call people to come to this so-called referendum and to choose all the options proposed. So we understand that with this referendum people are offered to choose between Lukashenko and Lukashenko," Tikhanovskaya said.

Earlier in the week, Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei said that the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe rejected Minsk's invitation to discuss participation in observing the republican referendum scheduled for February 27.

The Belarusian opposition did not recognize the results the August 2020 election, where Lukashenko was re-elected for his sixth term in office, claiming that Tikhanovskaya was the real winner. The dispute resulted in mass protests across the country, which declined by February 2021.