Belarus votes as Lukashenko aims to extend 21-year rule

MINSK: Belarussians were voting on Sunday in an election that is likely to see authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko claim a fifth term, with the EU possibly lifting sanctions against him if the polls take place without incident.
Lukashenko, 61, a swaggering former collective farm director once called Europe’s last dictator by Washington, has led the landlocked eastern European country closely allied to Russia since 1994.
While imposing Soviet-style economic controls and jailing opponents, Lukashenko enjoys a degree of popular support for his folksy, outspoken style and his regime’s durability, now making him Europe’s longest-serving leader.
The polls close at 1700 GMT, with official results expected on Monday.
The result of the polls are in little doubt, particularly as more than a third of the electorate, particularly students, soldiers and public service workers, voted early from Tuesday in a murky process.
At 4 pm (1300 GMT) on Sunday, the turnout was almost 75 percent, the central electoral commission said.
Liudmila Vauchok, a six-time Paralympic medallist in cross-country skiing and rowing, said she voted for Lukashenko because he brought “reliability and calm.”
“Whatever happens, Belarus is flourishing,” Vauchok told AFP. “Our system is established. I wouldn’t like to be in the president’s place as things are very complicated now. The main thing is for there not to be a war.”
Other voters expressed similar reasons to back Lukashenko.
“He does not bend to anyone’s will, he protects the interests of his people,” said retired university teacher Valentina Artyomovna as she bought pastries from her polling station’s buffet, part of the authorities’ attempt to create a “holiday atmosphere” for election day, including cut-price vodka and an accordion concert.
Some voters voiced cautious opposition, however.
“I am voting against everyone,” said Tatiana, a jeweller.
“I think we need someone younger -- fresh blood. I have nothing against Batka but I wanted someone younger,” she said, using Lukashenko’s nickname, meaning father.
Marina, a 21-year-old student said she based her choice on the candidates’ debate on television, which Lukashenko skipped, while refusing to elaborate.
“I hope there will be some economic changes, some reforms that will change the situation,” she said.
The Belarussian president is propped up by Russia, which supplies the country of 9.5 million with discount price energy, valuing Belarus as an ally and buffer against NATO member states such as Poland.
But Lukashenko has been known to publicly oppose Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Lukashenko’s incarceration of political opponents has led to his international isolation and the imposition of Western sanctions on Belarussian officials following disputed polls in 2010.
The European Union however is ready to suspend sanctions against Lukashenko after the surprise release in August of the country’s last political prisoners, European sources told AFP on Friday.
The proposal has sparked an outcry from opposition figures who have spent years protesting Lukashenko’s authoritarian ways.
Opposition leader Mikola Statkevich -- who was pardoned in August after spending five years in jail -- told AFP: “If they are together with this murderer, this criminal, then democracy is just words.”
On Saturday, the Belarussian dissident who won the 2015 Nobel Literature Prize, Svetlana Alexievich, said the EU should beware of Lukashenko.
“Every four years, new European officials come to power and think they can solve the Lukashenko problem without knowing that he is a man who is untrustworthy,” Alexievich told a news conference in Berlin.