Belarus Rounds Up Opposition Candidates After Disputed Elections

Tens of thousands of protestors clashed with police after yet another landslide win for authoritarian president Alexander Lukashenko.

If you’re going to rig an election, you should at least make it look close. Results of Sunday’s presidential vote in Belarus showed that Lukashenko received 79.6 per cent of the vote amid a 90 per cent voter turnout, figures that few Belarusians believed. Citizens outraged by the results gathered in Independence Square in Minsk but were dispersed by police, who witnesses say beat demonstrators with truncheons. Hundreds of people have been arrested, including seven of the nine opposition candidates who ran against Lukashenko. One candidate, Vladimir Nekliayev, was badly injured by police and taken to the hospital with a concussion, where he was arrested shortly afterwards. Lukashenko has ruled Belarus since 1994 and has been described as Europe’s last dictator.