Loyalists sweep Belarus vote as opposition takes no seats

Candidates loyal to Belarus's authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko have swept to victory in parliamentary elections, results showed Monday, with the opposition failing to take a single seat.

Critics had already denounced Sunday's vote as a fraud and said it was rife with violations, despite Lukashenko's recent efforts to reach out to the West.

Official results released Monday showed parties loyal to Lukashenko taking all 110 seats in the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of a parliament dubbed a rubber stamp by critics.

The opposition had previously held two seats in the chamber.

The 65-year-old Lukashenko-- who has been dubbed "Europe's last dictator" -- has ruled the ex-Soviet nation since 1994 and overseen a series of elections that international observers have deemed unfair.

The country is set to hold a presidential election next year and as he cast his ballot on Sunday Lukashenko confirmed he would again be a candidate.

He said he understood that Western countries would be watching the parliamentary vote but that it was Belarusians who would have the last word.

"We hold this vote in our country for our people, to make things better, and we hold it in the way we understand."