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Lukashenko wins poll

Vladimir Radyuhin

MOSCOW: Veteran Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko won a third presidential term in Sunday's election, which the Opposition described as fraudulent, vowing to organise large-scale street protests. President Lukashenko obtained 82.6 per cent of the votes in the poll contested by four candidates. The turnout was a record 92.6 per cent. The main Opposition candidate, Alexander Milinkevich, who got 6 per cent of the votes, condemned the election as a blatant fraud and called for street protests against an "illegal, illegitimate President". Mr. Milinkevich called for a re-run and for street protests as "the only way to talk to these illegal, illegitimate authorities." "There are all grounds to conclude that the vote complied with universal standards and its legitimacy is beyond doubt," Russia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement. European observers, by contrast, said the Belarus vote did not meet international standards for free and fair elections.

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