No surprise: Lukashenko wins Belarus presidential race

For those who supported Lukashenko’s reelection, many were motivated by the authoritative leader’s promise of “peace and stability” in Belarus at a time when the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and a struggling economy at home have put Belarusians on edge. It was lowest in the city of Minsk at 73.33 per cent, the commission said on its website.

Belarus’ gross domestic product shrank by 3.5 percent in the January-August period and the average monthly wage has fallen by about a third in dollar terms since the start of the year to $420.

While Lukashenko allowed an unauthorised opposition rally in the capital to go ahead without police intervention on Saturday, he warned he would not tolerate such protests after the vote.

“This is a mockery of the people, of the citizens of Belarus”, said Uladzimir Neklyayev, who ran in the 2010 elections.

Incumbent Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko won a landslide victory in Sunday’s presidential elections, electoral officials said. Still, the European Union is expected to suspend its sanctions on Lukashenko and his supporters in response to the freeing of six political prisoners in August, a long-held demand of the 28-nation bloc, although the decision is set to come later in October. Sunday’s vote drew heavily on the tradition of Soviet elections, where issues like equal ballot access and transparent counts take a backseat to its importance as a ritual underscoring national unity.

Now, an election observation mission was sent by OSCE in Belarus to assess the presidential election for its compliance with worldwide obligations and standards for democratic elections.

Mr Lukashenko faced three nominal rivals in the election: the leaders of two pro-government parties, Sergei Gaidukevich and Nikolai Ulakhovich, and little known opposition activist Tatyana Korotkevich. “However, the situation has changed in comparison with previous presidential elections”, he said.

President Alexander Lukashenko has extended his autocratic rule in Belarus by winning the fifth consecutive term in an election labelled by opposition as a farce.

Lukashenko’s share was an increase from the 79.7 percent of the vote the authoritarian leader of 21 years was reported to have won in 2010.

Moscow values Belarus as an ally and buffer against North Atlantic Treaty Organisation member states such as Poland, even if Lukashenko sometimes publicly disagrees with President Vladimir Putin. “They have seen that Belarus is a normal country”, Lukashenko said. “If you give me carte blanche for any destruction and any revolutionary transformations, if that is what you want, then for God’s sake we will do it”, he said.