Post-election report from Washington Post

On Oct. 11, 2015, Belarusians voted in their fifth presidential election since independence in 1991. For the fifth time, the official results awarded a landslide victory to Alexander Lukashenko, who has now been in power for more than two decades. During this time, his rule has become more centralized, personalized and undemocratic, with elections that are less free, fair and transparent.

That Lukashenko would win was not in doubt. Official results from the Central Election Commission (CEC) give Lukashenko a record 83.5 percent of the vote, with 87.2 percent turnout, although he performed worse in the capital Minsk, securing 65.6 percent. His closest rival, Tatiana Korotkevich, garnered 4.4 percent nationally and 7 percent in Minsk. Nationwide, 6.3 percent selected the option to vote against all candidates and this rose to 20.6 percent in Minsk. While Lukashenko may well have won this election anyway, the authorities appear to have inflated his margin of victory to close down any hope of an alternative and impress any potential opponents with his strength. This report examines how Lukashenko achieved such a resounding result and the challenges faced by his opponents.