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Karatkevich asks election authorities to invalidate vote results

Tatsyana Karatkevich on Wednesday formally requested the central election commission to invalidate the results of Belarus' October 6-11 presidential election.

Speaking to reporters outside the commission's office, Ms. Karatkevich said that her request had been accepted and was expected to be considered by the commission on October 16.

The 38-year-old presidential candidate cited the findings of election monitoring groups called Prava Vybaru (The Right of Choice) and Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections, which detected multiple irregularities in the election, as well as a 139-page list of violations of electoral regulations observed by members of her team.

"We have no hope that the result will be revised but it is important to be consistent," said Ms. Karatkevich.

Asked about her estimate of the true share of the vote gained by her, Ms. Karatkevich said that it was around 25 percent. "This is not the majority that would have allowed us to win," she acknowledged.

The election drew sharp criticism from independent domestic and international observers who said that voter turnout had been grossly exaggerated and the number of votes given not to Mr. Lukashenka had been understated.

In one glaring example of controversy surrounding the election, a statement available on the central election commission's website says that only 887 people voted for Ms. Karatkevich in the Smarhon district. But independent observers note with reference to official vote counting reports drawn up by the election commissions at eight polling stations in Smarhon that a total of 1,860 people cast their ballots for the opposition politician there. There are 40 polling stations in the district, including 20 in the city.

In her complaint, Ms. Karatkevich also suggested that the central election commission change electoral regulations ahead of future elections, namely limit early voting, guarantee all candidates' representation on election commissions and secure a transparent vote counting procedure.

Ms. Karatkevich also announced that her team was beginning preparations for next year's parliamentary elections and the 2020 presidential election.

Lidziya Yarmoshyna, head of the central election commission, announced early on Monday that, according to preliminary data, Alyaksandr Lukashenka had won a fifth term as president with 83.49 percent of the vote.

According to Ms. Yarmoshyna, the incumbent was followed by Ms. Karatkevich with 4.42 percent, Syarhey Haydukevich with 3.32 percent and Mikalay Ulakhovich with 1.67 percent, with 6.4 percent voting against all the candidates.

If the central election commission refuses to invalidate the election's results the decision may not be appealed.