Lukashenko records 'victory' in Belarus

Alexander Lukashenko, an outspoken autocrat who is at odds with the West, claimed a sweeping victory in Belarus’s presidential elections last night, despite being dogged by allegations of vote fraud.

‘‘It was an elegant victory,’’ he told a news conference in Minsk, the capital.

After a tense campaign and voting day, the Central Election Commission said early today that the incumbent had 78.4% of the vote with 75% of ballots counted. The final results were to be announced later.

Opposition leader Vladimir Goncharik had 12.5% of the vote and centrist politician Sergei Gaidukevich had 2.2%, election commission chair Lidia Yermoshina told a news conference.

Opinion polls taken before the election had indicated Lukashenko would win by a large margin.

The victory would give Lukashenko another five-year term and a mandate to pursue his goal of a merger with Russia and likely further isolate the former Soviet republic at the heart of Eastern Europe.