Belarusians Vote in Tightly Controlled Election; Opposition Calls for Boycott

FILE - A woman walks past a huge election banner and Belarus national flags in Minsk, Belarus, on Nov. 13, 2019. FILE - People shout slogans during a small protest against Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko outside the European Parliament in Brussels, on Sept. 15, 2020.

Polls opened Sunday in Belarus' tightly controlled parliamentary and local elections that are set to cement the steely rule of the country's authoritarian leader, despite calls for a boycott from the opposition, which dismissed the balloting as a "senseless farce."