Belarus Elections "Not Free from the Start"

Results of the latest parliamentary elections in Belarus are being widely criticized as undemocratic and may lead to further sanctions by the West. No opposition politicians won a seat following the weekend vote. The election turnout of 74.3 percent is being criticized as far too high, indicating fraud. Monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) are claiming that many opposition candidates were blocked from participating in Sunday’s election and were unable to run campaigns. Belarus has been ruled by Alexander Lukashenko since 1994 and no election since then has been deemed democratic by Western observers since then. The Belarus government has been under serious pressure since a violent crackdown on opposition protesters after the 2010 elections. The incident resulted in the US and EU imposing economic and travel sanctions on the Belarussian government. Around 700 of those arrested during the 2010 protests remain in jail, including presidential candidate Nikolai Stankevich.