Russia-led observer mission says Belarus election legitimate

MINSK, Dec 20 (Reuters) - An observer mission from the Russia-led CIS said in Monday that an election in Belarus which returned veteran President Alexander Lukashenko to power had been legitimate.

“The mission did not find any facts that placed under doubt the legitimacy of the elections,” mission chief Sergei Lebedev told journalists.

The central election commission in the early hours, speaking after opposition protests alleging vote-rigging, said Lukashenko had secured almost 80 percent of the vote.