German government voices 'strong doubts' about Belarus election

BERLIN: The German government on Monday voiced "strong doubts" over a disputed presidential vote in Belarus, also condemning the arrests of protesters in post-election demonstrations.

"We have strong doubts -- and from our point of view justified doubts -- about the... conduct of these elections," government spokesman Steffen Seibert told a press conference.

"Minimum standards for democratic elections were not met" and this was "not acceptable", he added.