Opposition boycotts Belarus parliamentary polls

PanARMENIAN.Net - Belarus is holding parliamentary elections on Sunday, September 23 without the ex-Soviet republic’s two main opposition parties, which are boycotting the vote amid complaints of an election fraud, RIA Novosti said.

A total of 293 candidates are running in single-member constituencies to fill 110 seats in parliament. Some 20 percent of voters have already cast their ballots in the four days of early voting. The elections will be recognized valid, if more than 50 percent of eligible voters come to the polls.

The two main opposition parties, United Civic and the BPF, pulled out of the parliamentary election a week ago and urged voters to go fishing or mushrooming instead of going to the polls, which they call “pseudo-elections” for a “fake” parliament.

The opposition claims the Belarus parliament has turned into a “pocket” chamber that rubber-stamps President Alexander Lukashenko’s directives.

Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus with an iron fist since 1994, was reelected in disputed polls in December 2010. Dozens of opposition figures, including political rivals, were arrested after violent protests in Minsk following the announcement of the presidential result.