Belarusians face a major government crackdown tonight, as they protest President Alexander Lukashenko’s absurd election theft.
Access roads to Minsk have been locked down, security forces are massing, and arrests have commenced. But the quite extraordinary measure of Lukashenko’s democratic affront, here, is propelling protester resolution. State-run exit polls show Lukashenko with a 79.7% tally and his primary opponent Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya with only 6.8%. These North Korean-style figures reflect Lukashenko’s utter disinterest in even a thin show of fairness. Analysts believe that Tsikhanouskaya would easily triumph were this election truly fair. Evincing as much, in Belarusian embassies abroad and those few polling stations where results were recorded accurately, Tskihanouskaya is leading handily.
