MINSK, Belarus, Oct. 12 (UPI) — Voters overwhelmingly elected Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to a fifth term in office.
The Belarus election commission said Luksahenko, 61, won 83.5 percent of the vote and none of his competitors won more than 5 percent. Voter turnout was measured at 86.75 percent.
Leaders of groups opposing Lukashenko were not allowed to campaign for the office, lending to the continuation of Lukashenko’s 21-year term in the former Soviet republic. Their slogans, including “Boycott the dictatorship” and “Lukashenko — go,” culminated in a protest march in the capital of Minsk after the polls closed.
Lukashenko also appeared on television with his son Nikolai on Sunday to cast his vote at a polling station.
Lukashenko has been criticized of creating a “soft dictatorship” in the country. This year’s Nobel Literature Prize laureate, Belarusian writer Svetlana Alexievich said Lukashenko is untrustworthy as he is still connected to the bygone Soviet era.
The country is dependent on the Russian government for political and financial support, but Lukashenko has recently reached out to the European Union in an attempt to establish relations. He also pardoned and released six political prisoners in August, satisfying a key demand from the West.
EU officials said they plan to lift various economic and political sanctions on Belarus if it finds the country’s election passes muster.
The George. W. Bush administration described Lukashenko in 2005 as “Europe’s last dictator.”
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