MINSK, Belarus (AP) — Belarus is holding a parliamentary election but with top opposition candidates kept off the ballot, only loyalists to the nation’s authoritarian president will win in what observers see as a dress rehearsal for next year’s similarly skewered presidential vote.
A Belarus' Army serviceman walks to cast his ballot during an early election at a polling station in Minsk, Belarus, ahead of the parliamentary election to be held on Sunday.
A Belarus Army serviceman casts his ballot during an early election at a polling station in Minsk, Belarus, ahead of the parliamentary election to be held on Sunday.
An election campaign volunteer, left, distributes leaflets, in Minsk, Belarus, ahead of the parliamentary election to be held on Sunday.
A Belarus' Army serviceman casts his ballot during an early election at a polling station in Minsk, Belarus, ahead of the parliamentary election to be held on Sunday.
A woman walks past a huge election banner and Belarus national flags in Minsk, Belarus, ahead of the parliamentary election to be held on Sunday.
A crow sits on an election poster in Minsk, Belarus, ahead of the parliamentary election to be held on Sunday.
People look at an election's poster in Minsk, Belarus, ahead of the parliamentary election to be held on Sunday.
A woman sets an old Belarus' flag at an election tent in Minsk, Belarus, ahead of the parliamentary election to be held on Sunday.
Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko has ruled the ex-Soviet nation of 10 million with an iron hand for a quarter century, showing little tolerance for dissent or free media and extending his rule through elections that the West has described as neither free nor fair.
In Sunday’s election, 516 candidates are contesting 110 parliament seats but opposition candidates were not allowed to run for various reasons, including “unfounded criticism of the government.” Election officials have denied opposition claims of voting violations even when presented with concrete evidence of fraud.
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