Belarus votes, Lukashenko to extend 16-year rule
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Voting got under way on Sunday in the former Soviet republic of Belarus in an election certain to extend strongman Alexander Lukashenko's 16-year stay in power for five more years.
Lukashenko won backing at the 11th hour from Moscow after being vilified on Russian television for weeks and he seemed set to continue a policy of playing off Russia against the West. The conduct of the vote, the margin of Lukashenko's victory, and his handling of opposition protests could decide how far the European Union decides to engage the country of 10 million people on its eastern flank. (Reuters)
