Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has secured a landslide election victory, according to preliminary results released by the country's Central Electoral Commission. The contest has been marred by anti-government protests.
Lukashenko won re-election with 80 percent of the vote, while the main opposition candidate, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, received nearly 10 percent of cast ballots.
The preliminary results were released after massive protests broke out in Minsk during the night. Police used tear gas, water cannons, and other crowd control weapons to disperse the demonstrators.
