Belarus presidential challenger goes into hiding on eve of election

Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who is trying to unseat Alexander Lukashenko, fled her home after police detained staffers

Belarus’s opposition candidate for president was forced to go into hiding the night before challenging the country’s longtime leader, Alexander Lukashenko, on Sunday in the country’s most dynamic election in a generation.

Candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya left her apartment after police detained two senior staffers and seven other campaign members in what they called an attempt to scare the opposition before the crucial vote. She was expected to re-emerge to vote on Sunday with an entourage of campaign staffers and journalists.

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