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Belarussian Presidential Election Declared Valid
The presidential election in Belarus on Sunday is valid as the turnout has by far exceeded 50 percent, the Belarussian Central Election Commission (BCEC) announced Sunday.
More than 7.2 million Belarussians are expected to vote for a new president on Sunday following the opening of some 6,753 polling stations nation-wide.
Incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko and his two rivals -- Chairman of the Labor Union Vladimir Goncharik and Liberal Democratic Party leader Sergei Gaidukevich, are contesting in the election.
At a polling booth located in a middle school in Minsk, ballots with the name and brief introduction of the three candidates were distributed to voters.
An old couple stepping out of the booth said they had cast votes for Lukashenko. "He is a smart president. He has done a lot for the people," said the husband.
The stations opened at 08:00 a.m. local time (0500 GMT) and will close at 08:00 p.m. (1700 GMT), and the preliminary voting results will be announced after midnight, the BCEC said.
Under the Belarussian Constitution, a candidate will be considered elected if he gets more than 50 percent of the votes in a valid election with more than half registered voters casting their votes.
If no one musters the required votes, a second round should be held within two weeks for the two candidates who have won the largest number of votes. And the person who wins a majority in the second round will be recognized as the winner.
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