Belarus today announced a September 28th election to a parliament where the opposition holds no seats.
Belarus is determined to disprove Western allegations that it violates human rights, and President Alexander Lukashenko, barred from entering the United States and the European Union, pledged a fair vote to prove his ex-Soviet state was a democracy.
But the liberal and nationalist opposition said little would change even if some opposition parliamentarians did win seats.
President Lukashenko said the election would allay any doubts about fundamental rights being upheld
Speaking after a presidential decree announcing the date was issued, Mr Lukashenko said the election would allay any doubts about fundamental rights being upheld in his country.
"We want to show the West, and Russia, how to conduct an election," he told the daily Komsomolskaya Pravda.
"We will do it so democratically that you can be sure the outcome is real and see who has the people's support. We want to do it openly, democratically so that no one will criticise us and we can say: 'What more do you people want from Belarus?'"
Last month Mr Lukashenko said that having the opposition in parliament would help Belarus's image but that he doubted whether opposition parties would get enough votes to win seats.
Nikolai Lazovik, secretary of Belarus's Central Election Commission, said new rules would allow opposition parties to play a role in the commission's affairs. No election in Belarus has been recognised as fair since the mid-1990s.
Mr Lukashenko has been trying to cultivate better relations with the West, especially the European Union. Several detainees were freed from prison and Western ambassadors suggested a successful September poll would help end Belarus's isolation.