Belarus election ‘a farce’, opposition leader tells crowd

The main Belarusian opposition candidate, Alexander Milinkevich, tonight called for new presidential elections as thousands of his supporters jammed a main square in central Minsk to protest the ballot that authorities said would hand incumbent Alexander Lukashenko a huge victory.

The head of the central election commission, Lidiya Yermoshina, said Lukashenko had won 89% of the vote, according to returns from nearly one-fifth of polling districts.