Incumbent ahead in Belarus election

Minsk - Belarus's central election commission said yesterday that official preliminary results showed the President, Mr Alexander…

Minsk - Belarus's central election commission said yesterday that official preliminary results showed the President, Mr Alexander Lukashenko, was ahead in the presidential election.

Officials said, with 31 per cent of the total vote counted, the incumbent had won 80.2 per cent of the ballot. There were reports of protesters gathering in central Minsk to hear the results of an election scarred by smear campaigns and allegations of vote rigging.

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