BELARUS: Belarus's President Alexander Lukashenko was yesterday expected to run for a third term as an official exit poll showed him easily winning a referendum to cancel presidential term limits.
The exit poll's results, disputed by Mr Lukashenko's opponents, suggested almost 83 per cent of Belarusian voters who took part in the referendum agreed to delete a provision in the constitution that limits the president to two terms.
Mr Lukashenko came to power in 1994. A yes vote could theoretically allow him to remain in office for life, although he would still have to stand for re-election every five years.
As he cast his ballot at a central Minsk polling station, Mr Lukashenko promised to "work harder and be more certain in my actions" if voters expressed confidence in him by supporting the referendum.
The central election commission announced that turnout had reached 57 per cent by mid-afternoon, surpassing the 50 per cent minimum needed to validate the elections. However, Mr Lukashenko's critics said the conduct during yesterday's voting was worse than in previous Belarusian elections.
The Charter 97 opposition group said it was receiving "more and more" reports of falsification of the vote, which was held in conjunction with elections to the lower house of parliament.
Observers from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe were expected to report on the parliamentary vote today but the group abstained from monitoring the referendum, which has been broadly condemned by western governments.
Mr Lukashenko said of the western criticism: "Try to calm down and stop accusing us of violations and cheating. Look at your own problems and solve them."