Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said he is "absolutely confident" of claiming a fourth term after casting his vote on Sunday in elections almost certain to hand him a fourth landslide victory while the opposition are gearing up to protest in Minsk's snowy squares in ten-below temperatures, RIA Novosti repororted.
At the helm since 1994, the brawny ex state farm boss, 56, was in a buoyant mood as he cast his vote alongside his youngest son - now a tradition - and expects little challenge to his iron-fisted grip on power from the splintered, nine candidate opposition.
"I am going into the elections with absolute confidence. I feel the support of the people. If I didn't feel it, I wouldn't have run as a candidate," Lukashenko told journalists on Sunday.
"Don't worry - there will be no one out on the square today," Lukashenko said. "As for those who favor protests, they should read our laws. Everything will be done by the book," he said.
The opposition hopes to emulate protests in the 2006 elections when Belarusians camped out in Minsk for five days until they were dispersed by police with some jailed. The opposition says it already has evidence of vote-rigging and is calling for new elections without Lukashenko.
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