Belarus: Opposition 'wins no seats' in contested poll

No opposition candidate won a seat in the Belarus parliament with nearly all the districts counted, the head of the elections commission said early today.

The results threw into question authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko’s commitment to democratic reform, including his promises that yesterday’s election would be free and fair.

Opposition leaders called on the West not to recognise the results.

There was a slim possibility that some opposition members could still make it into parliament, though the major opposition candidates ran in the 99 districts where vote counts were complete and thus were shut out.

Opposition candidates running in the remaining 11 districts were not well known.

A total of 263 candidates, including 70 from the opposition, competed for the 110 parliament seats.

“There was no election in Belarus. It was an electoral farce for the West,” said Anatoly Lebedko, leader of the opposition United Civil Party.

“We call on the EU and US not to recognise the results of the election,” he said.

In national elections four years ago, opposition candidates were not even allowed to run. But this time Mr Lukashenko agreed to allow them on the ballot and then welcomed more than 400 international election monitors to prove his willingness to embrace democratic reforms.

Central Election Commission head Lidia Yermoshina insisted the election met all international voting standards.

“The voter is afraid of losing what he has,” she said after announcing the results.

Even before the results were announced, the opposition insisted the vote had been rigged. As soon as the polls closed, about 500 opposition supporters turned out on the central square of the capital Minsk to protest the vote. Many carried European Union flags.

“We are tired of living in fear, we are tired of repression,” said Natalya Kurilovich, 34. “I’m tired of Lukashenko stealing votes. I want a European future for my children.”