Belarus’ election reinforces authoritarian leader’s rule despite the opposition call for its boycott

By YURAS KARMANAU
Associated Press

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Belarusian authorities have announced preliminary results of parliamentary and local elections in which only candidates loyal to the country’s authoritarian leader were allowed to compete amid the opposition’s call for a boycott. Sunday’s vote further cemented the 30-year rule of President Alexander Lukashenko, who declared an intention to seek yet another five-year term in a presidential election next year. The balloting was the first in Belarus since the contentious 2020 vote that handed Lukashenko his sixth term in office and triggered an unprecedented wave of mass demonstrations that brought hundreds of thousands into the streets. More than 35,000 people were arrested, thousands were beaten in police custody,