MINSK (Reuters) – Belarussians head to the polls today to cast their vote in presidential elections all but certain to re-elect authoritarian incumbent Alexander Lukashenko for a fifth term.
Lukashenko’s re-election five years ago led to mass protests and the imprisonment of leading opposition figures, but support for his 20-year-old regime has risen after he cast himself as the guarantor of stability in the face of economic crisis and a pro-Russian separatist conflict in neighbouring Ukraine.
The West has long ostracised Lukashenko, who has described himself as the “last dictator in Europe”, over his human rights record and his clampdown on political dissent, and has imposed economic sanctions on some Belarussian officials and companies.
Nevertheless, his criticism of Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula last year, his hosting of Ukraine peace talks and his pardoning of the six opposition leaders in August suggest he is seeking to improve his image in the West, observers say.
The European Union will lift its sanctions on Belarus, including those on Lukashenko, for four months after today’s vote, barring any last-minute crackdown, diplomatic sources said on Friday.
