President Alexander Lukashenko re-elected to a fourth term in office
Last Updated: Sunday, December 19, 2010 | 9:59 PM ET.CBC News
Protesters rally in Minsk on Sunday to denounce an election they say was rigged. (Sergei Grits/Associated Press)Thousands of opposition supporters tried to storm Belarus's main government building in Minsk after Sunday's national election, which a government exit poll showed — and official results later confirmed — President Alexander Lukashenko had won by a landslide.
About 40,000 opposition supporters rallied in central Minsk to call for the longtime authoritarian leader to resign. But the crowd, the largest opposition rally since 1996, was dispersed by baton-wielding police. Dozens of protesters were injured in clashes with riot police and their leader, as well as two other candidates, were beaten.
Lukashenko garnered 79.1 per cent of the vote, while Grigor Kostusev won 4.2 per cent, according to the Minsk-based EcooM research centre. Official results released later by the state electoral commission showed Lukashenko won his fourth term in office with 79.7 per cent of the votes, Reuters reported.
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/12/19/belarus-presidential-election.html#ixzz19FihCnCU
