MINSK, 9 August (BelTA) – The turnout in the ongoing presidential election in Belarus might be around 90%, Dean of the Philosophy and Social Sciences Faculty of Belarusian State University, Candidate of Science [History] Vadim Gigin said at the National Press Center on 9 August, BelTA has learned.
“The voter activity is very high today and it was also high during the early voting. I think that the turnout will be around 90% or even higher. It is absolutely understandable why people took advantage of the early voting opportunity: it is summertime, many people are in the countryside or on vacation, therefore they opted to vote early,” Vadim Gigin said.
The expert pointed to a tough competition between the candidates, between their teams and groups of people that are behind some candidates. “Opponents to Aleksandr Lukashenko tried their best to mobilize protest voters. However, in recent weeks supporters of the incumbent president have also got more active; there were many trips across the country and meetings with people. His opponents did the same. It is right: it will determine the results. The only question is whether there will be differences between voter preferences across different regions. In the previous election Aleksandr Lukashenko won in all the regions of the country,” the expert concluded.