For the first time since the fraught presidential election in the summer of 2020 and the ensuing mass protests, authoritarian-led Belarus is holding nationwide elections on Sunday. In addition to 110 members of the national parliament, around 12,000 representatives of local assemblies are to be elected. The elections are considered manipulated, as officials surrounding long-term ruler Alexander Lukashenko did not invite independent election observers. According to observers, the 69-year-old Lukashenko primarily wants to use the vote to show that he is in full control after the protests three a…