BELARUS-VOTE

A member of election commission passes a man holding firewood during voting in Vasilkovo village, some 45 km from Minsk.on December 19, 2010. Belarus went to the polls Sunday in presidential elections expected to hand a fourth term to its unpredictable strongman Alexander Lukashenko, extending his grip on power for another five years. Lukashenko, who has been at the helm of this poor ex-Soviet state for the past 16 years, is running against an array of nine opposition candidates. AFP PHOTO/ ALEXEY GROMOV