Belarus is voting in an election pitting President Alexander Lukashenko against a former teacher who emerged from obscurity to lead the biggest challenge in years against the man once dubbed “Europe’s last dictator”.
As he cast his ballot in the election, Lukashenko on Sunday said he would make sure there is no civil-war-like situation in Belarus, calling the situation “stable”. “I guarantee it,” he said.
Lukashenko, 65, is almost certain to win a sixth consecutive term, but could face a new wave of protests amid anger over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, the economy, and his human rights record.
A former Soviet collective farm manager, Lukashenko has ruled the country of 9.5 million since 1994.
Al Jazeera’s Step Vaessen reports from Minsk.
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