Elections are a predictable affair in the country often called Europe’s last dictatorship: There will be few surprises when Aleksandr Lukashenko is reelected to his sixth consecutive term as president of Belarus on Sunday.
But the real political upset has taken place on the campaign trail, as the president has faced an unprecedented challenge from the teacher-turned-opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who has drawn big crowds in smaller towns and cities across the country that were once thought to be Lukashenko’s base.
