Early Voting Begins In Belarus As Opposition Warns Of Stolen Votes
March 14, 2006
Leading opposition candidate Alyaksandr Milinkevich warned supporters that an early vote would be a stolen vote (file photo) (Bymedia.net)
The main opposition candidate in the March 19 vote, Alyaksandr Milinkevich, said advance votes would simply be stolen by the authorities.
Officials have dismissed the criticism as groundless.
Meanwhile Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin was quoted as accusing "certain partners" of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) of trying to "manipulate" the vote.
Opposition groups, human-rights advocates, the European Union, and the United States say they do not expect the election to be free or fair.
Minsk last week refused to grant observer status to a European Union delegation at the March 19 presidential elections. Georgian observers were today barred from entering the country.
(compiled from agency reports)