Voter in Belarus set to give President Lukashenko a 5th term

Alexievich said of Sunday’s elections: “No one doubts that Lukashenko will win…”

Lukashenko, the 61-year-old former leader of a collective farm known to his followers as Batka, or “Daddy”, has been criticized by the global community for his suppression of dissident voices and Soviet-style economic policies. Lukashenko has been the only person who has served as president since the elections in 1994.

Nevertheless, his criticism of Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula past 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 Belarussian president is propped up by Russian Federation, which supplies the country of 9.5 million with cut-price energy, valuing Belarus as an ally and buffer against North Atlantic Treaty Organisation member states such as Poland.

Belarus was termed “the last remaining dictatorship in Europe” by USA president George W. Bush during a visit to neighbouring Latvia in May 2005.

Police did not interfere with the march and protest rally in Minsk on Saturday.

“I don’t think we can expect any surprises and everyone thinks that what is happening in Russian Federation and Belarus, will unfortunately continue for a very long time”, says the 2015 Nobel Literature prize victor Svetlana Alexievich.

The European Union will lift its sanctions on Belarus, including those on Lukashenko, for four months after Sunday’s vote, barring any last-minute crackdown, diplomatic sources said on Friday.

“We know one thing: with Lukashenko in power, the situation will never change”, he said.

Brussels imposed sanctions on Lukashenko’s government after it cracked down on protests during the 2010 elections.

Though he has been largely dependent on Moscow and isolated from Western Europe, Lukashenko has developed a reputation for successfully playing both sides to his advantage. Often dressed in identical outfits, they have together met leaders including the Pope and Chinese President Xi Jinping. 36% of voters took advantage of the possibility of early voting.

Lukashenko is standing against three virtual unknowns, only one of whom, Tatiana Korotkevich, has bothered to run a campaign.

A poll by the state sociology institute in September tallied his support at 76 percent.