Belarus Referendum

From Reuters:

MINSK (Reuters) - Belarus awaited the outcome of a referendum on Monday to determine whether President Alexander Lukashenko, accused in the West of running roughshod over human rights, can run for office for a third time.

Officials released few details of the count, subject to delays after Sunday's plebiscite. Lukashenko's liberal opponents, speaking long before the polls closed, said it was subject to unprecedented cheating and intimidation.

Lukashenko needs the support of 50 percent of all registered voters -- not just those casting ballots -- to do away with a constitutional provision limiting him to two terms in office.

Two exit polls offered contradictory results in the former Soviet republic, where Western observers have deemed elections fraudulent since soon after Lukashenko first came to power in 1994.

The polling was overseen by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which sent 300 observers. It was noticed that the polling was conducted in a "climate of fear" with debate on issues lacking. Exit polling produced conflicting results. When asked of the irregularities, Lukashenko basically told everyone to mind their own business. He's quoted as saying,

"Try to calm down and stop accusing us of violations and cheating. Look at your own problems and solve them."

It appears that Belarus is drifting back towards the police state politics of communism.