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| Aleksandr Lukashenko of Belarus Set to Win Fifth Term as President | Aleksandr Lukashenko of Belarus Set to Win Fifth Term as President |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| MOSCOW — Aleksandr G. Lukashenko, the authoritarian president of Belarus, who suffered the indignity last week of seeing one of his sharpest critics win the Nobel Prize in Literature, was poised on Sunday to win a prize of his own: the presidency of Belarus, though that outcome had never been in doubt. | |
| Voters went to the polls on Sunday in an election in which Mr. Lukashenko, a former collective farm director who has led Belarus for 21 years, was widely expected to trounce three token competitors and win a fifth term. | |
| Analysts of the country’s political system said the results, like those of many elections in the old Soviet Union, had been determined long before voters marked their ballots. | Analysts of the country’s political system said the results, like those of many elections in the old Soviet Union, had been determined long before voters marked their ballots. |
| The election, in fact, would not have drawn much attention but for the announcement on Thursday that Svetlana Alexievich, a Belarussian journalist and nonfiction writer, had won the Nobel Prize. She has long been a prominent critic of Soviet and post-Soviet governments, including in Belarus. | The election, in fact, would not have drawn much attention but for the announcement on Thursday that Svetlana Alexievich, a Belarussian journalist and nonfiction writer, had won the Nobel Prize. She has long been a prominent critic of Soviet and post-Soviet governments, including in Belarus. |
| Speaking to reporters in Berlin on Saturday, Ms. Alexievich, who has spent periods of her life in exile, described Sunday’s election as a rigged contest that Mr. Lukashenko was sure to win, as always. | Speaking to reporters in Berlin on Saturday, Ms. Alexievich, who has spent periods of her life in exile, described Sunday’s election as a rigged contest that Mr. Lukashenko was sure to win, as always. |
| “No one doubts that Lukashenko will win,” she said. “To paraphrase Stalin, it’s unimportant who votes for whom; what matters is who counts the vote. I don’t think we can expect any surprises.” | “No one doubts that Lukashenko will win,” she said. “To paraphrase Stalin, it’s unimportant who votes for whom; what matters is who counts the vote. I don’t think we can expect any surprises.” |
| Ms. Alexievich, who was awarded the Nobel for her sweeping nonfiction works about events like the Soviet-Afghan war and the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, also described Russia as a place where “one can no longer speak of democracy” and “where ‘liberal’ is a dirty word.” | Ms. Alexievich, who was awarded the Nobel for her sweeping nonfiction works about events like the Soviet-Afghan war and the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, also described Russia as a place where “one can no longer speak of democracy” and “where ‘liberal’ is a dirty word.” |
| In fact, Belarus has been undergoing one of its periodic thaws in recent months, leading to new openness, at least by Belarussian standards. Mr. Lukashenko released political prisoners before the election and has appealed to the European Union to lift some economic sanctions. | In fact, Belarus has been undergoing one of its periodic thaws in recent months, leading to new openness, at least by Belarussian standards. Mr. Lukashenko released political prisoners before the election and has appealed to the European Union to lift some economic sanctions. |
| Mr. Lukashenko also announced his opposition to a request by the Russian Defense Ministry to establish an air base in Belarus, which would extend Russia’s military reach westward. | Mr. Lukashenko also announced his opposition to a request by the Russian Defense Ministry to establish an air base in Belarus, which would extend Russia’s military reach westward. |
| On Sunday, Mr. Lukashenko reiterated his opposition but said he would be willing to meet with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia to discuss the request. | On Sunday, Mr. Lukashenko reiterated his opposition but said he would be willing to meet with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia to discuss the request. |
| Although citizens are not required to vote, the government offers free doughnuts at polling stations to draw crowds. About 30 percent of registered voters cast ballots in early absentee voting, a practice often criticized by election observers for offering opportunities for fraud. | Although citizens are not required to vote, the government offers free doughnuts at polling stations to draw crowds. About 30 percent of registered voters cast ballots in early absentee voting, a practice often criticized by election observers for offering opportunities for fraud. |
| While no groups conducted reliable and independent exit polls, the state sociology institute published the results of its own such polls after the vote on Sunday showing Mr. Lukashenko would win 83 percent of the tally, which would be a slight bump up from his last result of 79 percent in 2010. | While no groups conducted reliable and independent exit polls, the state sociology institute published the results of its own such polls after the vote on Sunday showing Mr. Lukashenko would win 83 percent of the tally, which would be a slight bump up from his last result of 79 percent in 2010. |
| The largest observer mission monitoring the vote, with 397 members, arrived from an organization of former Soviet states; its observers invariably approve one another’s elections. | The largest observer mission monitoring the vote, with 397 members, arrived from an organization of former Soviet states; its observers invariably approve one another’s elections. |