Belarus votes on whether Lukashenko can stand for third term, amid Western concerns

Belarusians were set to cast their ballots Sunday in a constitutional referendum to decide whether their authoritarian leader can run for a third term, amid Western fears of a rigged vote and further diplomatic and economic isolation for the ex-Soviet republic. Seven million voters, in this impoverished Slavic state of 10 million people on Europe's eastern edge, will also elect a new 110-seat parliament which Lukashenko has already vowed will not include a single foe to his rule. With many of his enemies in jail, exile, or operating underground, the chances seem high that "batka" -- or "dad" as the former collective farm boss is known by his supporters -- will get his way. "On October 17, vote FOR Belarus," exhorted the front page of Belarus's state-controlled daily "Sovyetskaya Belorusia" under a huge photograph of a beaming Lukashenko. The picture showed the president holding a little girl wearing a red scarf reminiscent of the Soviet Union's Communist Youth movement. It seems a fitting, somewhat vague image for Lukashenko's vision for a country that has struggled to find its identity throughout history, mostly ruled by Russia or other European dynasties.