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| - Belarus held tense presidential polls on Sunday with a popular woman opposition candidate posing the greatest challenge in years to long-ruling strongman Alexander Lukashenko. Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, a 37-year-old English teacher and translator, stood for election after authorities barred her husband, popular blogger Sergei Tikhanovsky, from running and then jailed him. She swiftly emerged as 65-year-old Lukashenko's strongest rival and her rallies drew tens of thousands of supporters across the country. Her presidential bid has sparked widespread calls for change in the ex-Soviet country of 9.5 million people, which Lukashenko has ruled with a firm grip for the last 26 years. One polling station in central Minsk was unusually busy with voters standing in line for ballot papers, an AFP reporter saw. Many wore white bracelets after Tikhanovskaya urged her supporters to wear them. "We are waiting for changes," said one voter, a 60-year-old woman speaking on condition of anonymity. She added that she voted for a "new president," Tikhanovskaya, because she "promises us the possibility of choice and changes." "Twenty-six years is a very long time. We need fresh blood," said a 33-year-old businesswoman, adding: "I voted for Tikhanovskaya." Tikhanovskaya says she is not a politician, describing herself as an "ordinary woman, a mother and wife." She has campaigned in an all-women team with the wife of one barred opposition chief and the campaign manager of another. She says that if she wins she will call fresh elections that include the entire opposition, including those currently in detention. Political observers warned that Lukashenko, who is seeking a sixth term, would rig Sunday's vote in the absence of international observers. A record 41.7 percent of voters took part in early voting, the central electoral commission reported, with observers saying this made it easier to manipulate the count. More than 45 percent of voters had cast ballots by noon Sunday, according to the commission. Lukashenko arrived at a polling station to jaunty accordion music and vowed to maintain order, suggesting that his opponents may be planning unrest. "No one will let anything get out of control. Nothing will get out of control, I guarantee you... whatever certain people have planned," the strongman said in comments shown on state television. He said, however, that "there haven't been any unlawful repressions and there won't be." The country ramped up security measures on election day with police carrying machine guns checking vehicles entering Minsk. There was a heightened police presence in the city and government buildings were cordoned off by police. Belarusians also reported problems with accessing websites of independent media. Tikhanovskaya said she would not call on her supporters to protest after the vote, but at the same time she asked police not to obey "criminal orders." On Saturday, authorities arrested Tikhanovskaya's campaign manager and briefly detained one of her two top allies. In a video address on the eve of the vote, Tikhanovskaya asked supporters to do all they could so that Belarusians "wake up in a new country." She urged Belarusians to help prevent election fraud by voting late on Sunday. The electoral commission chief warned against this, however, saying polling stations would restrict access to prevent overcrowding. An independent observer group, Right of Choice, said that at least 28 of its observers had been detained and election officials barred others from entering polling stations. Lukashenko has sought to galvanise support by warning of outside threats and raising the spectre of violent mobs. Belarus has detained over 30 Russians who Lukashenko said were mercenaries allegedly sent to the country to destabilise the vote. The detentions sparked a political crisis with ally Russia, with Moscow urging the men's release and President Vladimir Putin telling Lukashenko that he wants Belarus to stay "stable." Lukashenko said Sunday that Putin had sent him a letter with "all the facts" on the incident, his press service said. He has retained close ties to Moscow, though he often plays Russia and the West against each other. France, Germany and Poland have urged Lukashenko to ensure a "free and fair" election and allow "independent surveillance of the vote by local observers". Belarus has not held polls judged free and fair since 1995 and this time Minsk has not invited observers from the European OSCE observer group for the first time since 2001.` In the past Lukashenko has crushed protests with riot police and hefty jail terms, prompting Western sanctions. tk-am/mm/wdb
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