Editing Alexander Lukashenko (section)

=== Third term (2006–2010) ===
{{main|2006 Belarusian presidential election}}
[[File:Lukashenko and Medvedev December 2008.jpg|left|thumb|232x232px|Lukashenko with [[Dmitry Medvedev]] in the [[Kremlin]], December 2008]]
After Lukashenko confirmed he was running for re-election in 2005, opposition groups began to seek a single candidate. On 16 October 2005, on the [[Day of Solidarity with Belarus]], the political groups [[Zubr (political organization)|Zubr]] and Third Way Belarus encouraged all opposition parties to rally behind one candidate to oppose Lukashenko in the 2006 election. Their chosen candidate was [[Alaksandar Milinkievič|Alexander Milinkevich]].<ref>{{cite news|first=Matthew|last=Collin|title=Belarus opposition closes ranks|date=3 October 2005|work=BBC News|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4304412.stm|access-date=13 October 2007|archive-date=8 January 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080108223011/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4304412.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> Lukashenko reacted by saying that anyone going to opposition protests would have their necks wrung "as one might a duck".<ref name="Telegraph 2008" /> On 19 March 2006, exit polls showed Lukashenko winning a third term in a landslide, amid opposition reports of vote-rigging and fear of violence. The [[Belarusian Republican Youth Union]] gave Lukashenko 84.2% and Milinkevich 3.1%. The Gallup Organisation noted that the Belarusian Republican Youth Union are government-controlled and released the exit poll results before noon on election day even though voting stations did not close until 8&nbsp;pm.<ref>{{cite news |title=Gallup/Baltic Surveys announces impossibility of independent and reliable exit polls under present conditions in Belarus |url=http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2006/03/20/gallup |publisher=[[Charter'97]] |date=20 March 2006 |access-date=13 October 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930201849/http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2006/03/20/gallup |archive-date=30 September 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Belarusian authorities vowed to prevent any large-scale demonstrations following the election (such as those that marked the [[Orange Revolution]] in Ukraine). Despite their efforts, the opposition had the largest number of demonstrators in years, with nightly protests in Minsk continuing for a number of days after the election. The largest protest occurred on election night; reporters for the [[Associated Press]] estimated that approximately 10,000 people turned out.<ref name="sfgate">{{cite news|title=Incumbent Declared Winner of Belarus Vote|url=http://onlineathens.com/stories/032006/news_20060320034.shtml|work=Athens Banner-Herald|agency=Associated Press|date=20 March 2006|access-date=13 September 2012|quote=The gathering was the biggest the opposition had mustered in years, reaching at least 10,000 before it started thinning out, according to AP reporters' estimates.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130622112747/http://onlineathens.com/stories/032006/news_20060320034.shtml|archive-date=22 June 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> Election observers from the Russia-led Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) differed on the Belarusian election.<ref>{{cite news|title=CIS, OSCE observers differ on Belarus vote|url=http://english.people.com.cn/200603/21/eng20060321_252162.html|work=[[People's Daily]]|date=21 March 2006|access-date=13 October 2007|quote=Election observers from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) declared the Belarus presidential vote open and transparent on Monday. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) did not assess the election positively.|archive-date=19 June 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090619193108/http://english.people.com.cn/200603/21/eng20060321_252162.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:Dmitry Medvedev 29 September 2009-3.jpg|thumb|238x238px|Dmitry Medvedev and Alexander Lukashenko observed the final phase of the Zapad-2009 strategic exercises that took place in Baranavichy, Belarus.]]
The OSCE declared on 20 March 2006 that the "presidential election failed to meet OSCE commitments for democratic elections." Lukashenko "permitted State authority to be used in a manner which did not allow citizens to freely and fairly express their will at the ballot box... a pattern of intimidation and the suppression of independent voices... was evident throughout the campaign."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/p/eur/rls/rm/63597.htm |title=Ballots on the Frontiers of Freedom: Elections in Belarus and Ukraine |access-date=13 October 2007 |last=Kramer |first=David |date=21 March 2006 |publisher=[[United States Department of State]] |archive-date=5 February 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090205142000/http://2001-2009.state.gov/p/eur/rls/rm/63597.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> The heads of all 25 EU countries declared that the election was "fundamentally flawed".<ref name=CNN243 /> In contrast, the Russian minister of foreign affairs declared, "Long before the elections, the OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights had declared that they [the elections] would be illegitimate and it was pretty biased in its commentaries on their progress and results, thus playing an instigating role."<ref name=CNN243>{{cite news|title=West slams Belarus crackdown |date=24 March 2006 |publisher=CNN |url=http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/03/24/belarus.protest/index.html |access-date=17 October 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070428174816/http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/03/24/belarus.protest/index.html |archive-date=28 April 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Lukashenko later stated that he had rigged the election results, but against himself, in order to obtain a majority more typical of European countries. Although he had won 93.5% of the vote, he said, he had directed the government to announce a result of 86%.<ref>{{cite news|script-title=ru:Лукашенко: Последние выборы мы сфальсифицировали|date=23 November 2006|publisher=[[Tut.By]]|url=http://news.tut.by/77777.html|access-date=13 October 2007|language=ru|archive-date=11 July 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070711211220/http://news.tut.by/77777.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rferl.org/content/article/1343909.html |title=Poland, Belarus & Ukraine Report |date=28 November 2006 |publisher=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |access-date=6 January 2013 |archive-date=11 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130811040520/http://www.rferl.org/content/article/1343909.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Some Russian nationalists, such as [[Dmitry Rogozin]] and the [[Movement Against Illegal Immigration]], stated that they would like to see Lukashenko become [[President of Russia]] in 2008. Lukashenko responded that he would not run for the Russian presidency, but that if his health was still good, he might run for reelection in 2011.<ref>{{cite news|title=Rightist Group Promote Belarus Dictator Lukashenko as Russian Presidential Candidate|url=http://www.data.minsk.by/belarusnews/022007/218.html|work=MosNews|date=28 February 2007|access-date=11 July 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929152627/http://www.data.minsk.by/belarusnews/022007/218.html|archive-date=29 September 2007}} [http://rusviews.com/2007-02-28/71.html Alt URL]{{Dead link|date=July 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

In September 2008, [[2008 Belarusian parliamentary election|parliamentary elections were held]]. Lukashenko had allowed some opposition candidates to stand, though in the official results, opposition members failed to get any of the 110 available seats. OSCE observers described the vote as "flawed", including "several cases of deliberate falsification of results".<ref name=BBC299 /> Opposition members and supporters demonstrated in protest.<ref name=BBC299>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7642084.stm "Belarus clean sweep poll 'flawed'"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081003152503/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7642084.stm |date=3 October 2008 }}, BBC News, 29 September 2008.</ref> According to the [[Nizhny Novgorod]]-based [[Commonwealth of Independent States|CIS]] election observation mission, the findings of which are often dismissed by the West,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.rferl.org/content/article/1058234.html |title=CIS: Monitoring The Election Monitors |date=2 April 2005 |access-date=24 September 2009 |publisher=[[Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty]] |archive-date=15 March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100315155235/http://www.rferl.org/content/article/1058234.html |url-status=live }}</ref> the elections in Belarus conformed to international standards.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://law.by/work/EnglPortal.nsf/0/89452FE328F40067C22574D3003DECEE?OpenDocument |title=CIS observers: Belarus' elections meet international standards |date=29 September 2008 |access-date=12 October 2008 |publisher=National Center of Legal Information of the Republic of Belarus |language=ru |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090617025030/http://law.by/work/EnglPortal.nsf/0/89452FE328F40067C22574D3003DECEE?OpenDocument |archive-date=17 June 2009}}</ref> Lukashenko later commented that the opposition in Belarus was financed by foreign countries and was not needed.<ref>{{cite news|title=Opposition gewinnt keinen einzigen Sitz&nbsp;– Proteste in Weißrussland |work=[[Der Spiegel]] |date=29 September 2008 |url=http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/0,1518,581019,00.html |access-date=30 September 2008 |language=de |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081003013930/http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/0%2C1518%2C581019%2C00.html |archive-date= 3 October 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In April 2009, he held talks with [[Pope Benedict XVI]] in the Vatican, Lukashenko's first visit to Western Europe after a travel ban on him a decade earlier.<ref>[https://archive.today/20120526225108/http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5goe8nuB8qJvAm0EGX1sbq_kD2w-g Belarus leader meets Pope in landmark trip]. Agence France-Presse. Google News (27 April 2009). Retrieved 19 May 2012.</ref>

In August 2009, during a working trip to the [[Vitebsk Region]], Lukashenko announced a program for the revival of Belarusian potato production, saying: "We will finish working on a special program, we will decide how many potatoes we need for the domestic market, how many potatoes we can sell" and that "we'll bring back this crop that is very valuable to us".<ref>{{cite web | url =https://www.belta.by/president/view/eto-dorozhe-nefti-kak-lukashenko-sdelal-kartofel-natsionalnym-produktom-belarusi-581349-2023/|title="Это дороже нефти". Как Лукашенко сделал картофель национальным продуктом Беларуси|publisher=[[Belta]]| language=Russian|date=9 August 2023| accessdate =13 March 2024}}</ref> Later, Lukashenko received the nickname "potato [[führer]]" from his detractors.<ref>{{cite web | url =https://charter97.org/ru/news/2022/6/26/504037/|title=Юрий Касьянов о нападении на Украину: Путин прикажет, а картофельный фюрер сделает|publisher=[[Charter 97]]| language=Russian| accessdate =13 March 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url =https://www.rosbalt.ru/news/2021-05-26/ilya-yashin-my-pryamo-seychas-beznadezhno-teryaem-belarus-4887235|title=Илья Яшин. Мы прямо сейчас безнадежно теряем Беларусь|publisher=[[Rosbalt]]|language=Russian| date=26 May 2021| accessdate =13 March 2024}}</ref>