Freedom House the ruling party's dominance. But in other settings, elec- There are, of course, examples of elections whose out- tions are held under conditions that are relatively free come resembles the obviously rigged results in total- but effectively unfair. That is, the electoral playing field itarian or junta-like settings. Eurasian presidents such is tilted to favor the incumbents, though the balloting as Azerbaijan's Ilham Aliyev and Belarus's Alyaksandr itself is not fixed and remains somewhat unpredictable. Lukashenka have repeatedly won elections with over In illiberal environments like Hungary and Turkey over 80 percent of the vote, and others have easily broken the past five years, prospects for an opposition victory the 90 percent barrier. The ruling Ethiopian Peoples’ are remote, but not out of the question. Even in a qua- Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) won every si-dictatorship like Venezuela, the opposition can score seat in the most recent parliamentary polling.® impressive victories in parliamentary elections and mo- bilize competitive campaigns for the presidency. However, more sophisticated autocracies try to Adisplay of manage elections so as to maintain a pluralist fagade ee See . .. and hide evidence of systematic fraud or intimidation. In December 2011, members of the Russian opposition P F 3 5 : . . : . In Russia, nominal opposition parties usually garner a obtained video evidence of ballot stuffing committed by ae . : an , : . - significant share of parliamentary seats. But all defer operatives from Vladimir Putin's United Russia party in . ’ ; : - . to Putin as the country’s unchallenged leader and that month's parliamentary elections. A series of unusu- F . . i : typically vote according to his wishes on key issues. ally large protests ensued. Putin weathered the furor and . ws . oe ; . . ; Genuine opposition forces that seek to win political went on to win a presidential poll the following year. But : s . . . : | _. power are no