January 26, Pozirk. Polls have closed for Belarus’ seventh presidential election with voter turnout at 85.7 percent, of which 41.8 percent voted early, the Central Election Commission (CEC) reports.
Authorities recorded a turnout of 92.64 percent for the Mahiloŭ region, 91.54 percent for the Homiel region, 90.56 percent for the Brest region, 89.28 percent for the Hrodna region, 86.71 percent for the Minsk region, 86.39 percent for the Viciebsk region and 69.72 percent for Minsk.
The CEC intends to report preliminary data on the number of votes for each candidate by 2 a.m. with the announcement of preliminary results of the election scheduled for 11 a.m. tomorrow.
The election took place in a purged political landscape amid a new wave of crackdown on regime critics.
The five presidential bidders were Alaksandar Łukašenka, his supporters Aleh Hajdukievič, Alaksandar Chižniak, Siarhiej Syrankoŭ as well as former MP Hanna Kanapackaja.
The Belarusian opposition dismissed the election as a sham, noting that political reprisals prevent pro-democracy candidates from running and voters from freely expressing their will.
The country has not held a single free and fair election since 1996 by the standards of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
