MINSK (Reuters) – The Belarusian election commission on Tuesday declined to register opposition businessman Viktor Babariko as a candidate for the country’s Aug. 9 presidential election, clearing the way for incumbent Alexander Lukashenko to remain in power.
Babariko, who is widely seen as Lukashenko’s main challenger in the election, was detained in June after being accused of crimes including taking $430 million out of the country in money-laundering schemes.
(Reporting by Andrey Makhovsky; Writing by Alexander Marrow; Editing by Alex Richardson)
