Belarusians are voting in a referendum on Sunday to change the former Soviet republic's constitution, which will allow President Alexander Lukashenko to run for a third term.

The "yes" poll vote, scheduled to open at 0500 GMT and close at1700 GMT, asks Belarusians to approve the removal of a constitutional provision obliging Lukashenko to step down in 2006 after two terms.

Voters will also be electing lawmakers to the country's 110-seat House of Representatives in the parliamentary elections organized alongside the referendum.

"Your vote will not be so much for me, as for a clear way forward, for stability in the Belarusian society. And for the future of your children and grandchildren," said Lukashenko in a campaign speech.

Lukashenko, 50, was first elected in 1994 on an anti-corruption platform. He used a 1996 referendum to prolong his mandate.

Source: Xinhua