Observers fear trouble may follow state exit poll giving incumbent president unexpected 80% of vote
Belarus was braced for protests on Sunday evening as the incumbent president, Alexander Lukashenko, appeared poised to claim victory in an election marred by accusations of vote-rigging.
As polls closed at 8pm, a state exit poll gave Lukashenko 79.7% of the vote and just 6.8% to challenger Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, whose maverick campaign attracted some of the largest political rallies in Belarus since the fall of the Soviet Union. An estimated 9.2% voted “against all”, according to the poll, a tradition dating from Soviet days.
Continue reading…Observers fear trouble may follow state exit poll giving incumbent president unexpected 80% of voteOpposition candidate comes out of hiding as Belarus votes Belarus was braced for protests on Sunday evening as the incumbent president, Alexander Lukashenko, appeared poised to claim victory in an election marred by accusations of vote-rigging. As polls closed at 8pm, a state exit poll gave Lukashenko 79.7% of the vote and just 6.8% to challenger Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, whose maverick campaign attracted some of the largest political rallies in Belarus since the fall of the Soviet Union. An estimated 9.2% voted “against all”, according to the poll, a tradition dating from Soviet days. Continue reading…