BELARUS

would have held presidential elections in May if Alyaksandr Lukashenka had not hijacked the constitution and extended his term. The democratic opposition staged an election anyway, with thousands of volunteers carrying ballots door to door and collecting the votes in sealed boxes. The shadow Central Electoral Commission claims a remarkable 53 percent of eligible voters participated. The opposition’s goal now is to engage in negotiations with Lukashenka under the auspices of the European Union, the Council of Europe, or the Organization for European Security and Cooperation.