MINSK — Belarus held parliamentary elections Sunday without the main opposition parties, which boycotted the vote to protest the detention of political prisoners and opportunities for election fraud. The election is to fill 110 seats in parliament, which long has been reduced to a rubber stamp by authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko, who has ruled the former Soviet nation since 1994. Western observers have criticized all recent elections in Belarus as undemocratic. Lukashenko's landslide win in a 2010 presidential election triggered a mass street protest that was brutally suppressed, and any rallies after the parliamentary vote would be certain to draw a similar harsh response. “Elections in those states where they are boring and peaceful are a good thing for the people, not to mention for the government,” Lukashenko said after casting his ballot, his 7-year-old son by his side. But he warned that the calm would not last if the opposition mounted a protest. “The main show here, as you understand, always begins after the elections, therefore anything can happen, although of course, God forbid that it does,” he said. “All sorts of political nonsense always occurs here after the results are announced.” The opposition had hoped to use this election to build support, but 33 out of 35 candidates from the United Civil Party were barred from television, while the state-owned press refused to publish their election programs. “We are calling on voters to ... ignore and boycott this electoral farce,” said party leader Anatoly Lebedko. The other party that boycotted the vote was the Belarusian Popular Front. About 40 candidates from communist and leftist groups critical of Lukashenko still ran, but they weren't expected to make it into the parliament, which has been fully occupied by government loyalists since the last three opposition members lost their seats in 2004. “Lukashenko has made the situation totally absurd, not even bothering to put a democratic facade on it,” said Vitaly Rymashevsky, who ran against Lukashenko in the 2010 presidential election. “He already knows the names of the new parliament members.” The president, who speaks about his critics with contempt, has said the opposition parties' withdrawal from the vote reflects their weakness and shows they “are nobodies.” This judgment has been accepted by voters like Pyotr Rushailo, a 73-year-old retired military officer. “I am sure that the people will support the government and we will get through our current difficulties,” he said. “The opposition only disrupts the normal work of the president and parliament, so I'm glad they are not taking part in the elections.” — AP
