Belarus election commission claims authoritarian incumbent far ahead in vote

Voter turnout was so high that some polling places in Minsk had to work past the planned closing time of 8pm local time to accommodate voters who were waiting in long lines. Picture:PA

The head of Belarus’s election commission has declared that partial results show authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko far ahead in his bid for a sixth consecutive term.

The announcement by Lidia Yermoshina, before polling stations had closed, that Mr Lukashenko had racked up 82% support in voting at hospitals and sanatoria in five regions was likely to exacerbate tensions with opposition supporters upset about the country’s deteriorating economy, political repression and the president’s cavalier dismissal of the coronavirus threat.