Military

DATE=10/18/04

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

NUMBER=2-319747

TITLE=BELARUS / RESULTS (LONG UPDATE)

BYLINE=BILL GASPERINI

DATELINE=MOSCOW

HEADLINE: Belarussian leader wins referendum on extending rule

INTRO: Officials in the former Soviet republic of Belarus say voters have endorsed constitutional changes that will allow authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko to seek a third term. But, international observers say the election "fell far short" of international democratic standards. Bill Gasperini has more from Moscow.

TEXT: Belarussian officials say 77-percent of voters approved the referendum that would allow Alexander Lukashenko to amend the constitution and run for a third five-year term.

Election Commission chief Lydia Yermoshina also says 86-percent of the country's seven-million voters turned out for Sunday's election.

Opposition leaders charge that the vote count was unfair and want an investigation into how the election was conducted.

Their position was bolstered by international election observers with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe who said the voting "fell far short of international standards".

The organization added that "democratic freedoms were largely disregarded by the authorities."

Foreign nations had expressed concerns even before the vote took place in the country, which has long been criticized for human-rights abuses and a lack of democratic reform.

Last week, the State Department said the vote was unlikely to be free and fair, based on past experience in a country that Mr. Lukashenko has ruled with an iron hand for the past decade.

Mr. Lukashenko rejects all charges against his rule, saying that foreign countries should mind their own business.

While voting Sunday, the former state farm boss singled out the United States for criticism, saying there are plenty of questions about the fairness of the American electoral system.

Anatoly Lebedko is head of the Citizen's Union Party, one of the few opposition groups which still functions inside Belarus.

/// RUSSIAN ACT, IN AND UNDER ///

He says Mr. Lukashenko wants to hold onto power forever and thinks of himself as a kind of czar or even a small God.

Analysts say that Mr. Lukashenko does enjoy genuine support - especially among voters in rural areas and the elderly, who are afraid of losing social benefits.

They point to other former Soviet republics, such as neighboring Russia, where millions of people have been left to fend for themselves amid spiraling prices for many goods and services.

Sunday's balloting was also held to elect deputies for a new 110-seat parliament, with Mr. Lukashenko predicting outright victory for his supporters there, as well. (SIGNED)

NEB/BG/KBK/RAE