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BBC News - Belarus country profile
The European security organisation, the OSCE, described the election as seriously flawed, and OSCE observers criticised both the counting of votes and the violent backlash against opposition candidates. The Belarus government responded by shutting down the OSCE's Minsk office. Russia said the election was an internal matter for Belarus.A former state farm director, Mr Lukashenko was first elected president in 1994, following his energetic performance as chairman of the parliamentary anti-corruption committee.A 1996 referendum gave the president greatly increased powers at the expense of parliament and extended his term by two years. He won a further five years in office in 2001 presidential elections condemned as undemocratic by Western observers. Another referendum in October 2004 supported lifting the two-term limit on Mr Lukashenko's rule, allowing him to stand again in 2006 and 2010.Over the years, several opposition politicians who might have provided leadership have disappeared or been imprisoned. Insulting the president, even in jest, carries a prison sentence.The president remains defiant in the face of Western pressure for change. He has dismissed all possibility of revolutions such as those which brought an end to old-style regimes in Georgia and neighbouring Ukraine.The government maintained its stranglehold on politics in the 2008 parliamentary elections, winning all seats.
