MINSK, Belarus -- In a vote hailed by the European Parliament, results show that runoff elections have finally produced the quorum needed to establish Belarus' new parliament.


President Alexander Lukashenko had threatened to introduce direct rule if the necessary quorum was not achieved in Sunday's third round of voting.


Results from the republic's Electoral Commission on Monday showed that 59 candidates mustered enough votes to win seats in parliament in the former Soviet republic. Some 238 candidates were competing for 121 seats.


"Despite all efforts to sabotage the election of a new parliament, the voters of Belarus have finally succeeded," the European Parliament, which monitored the vote, said Monday.


It said Belarus finally could have a functioning parliament despite efforts by Lukashenko's government to hobble the elections, including restricting candidates' media access and refusing to broadcast a televised appeal for voters to go to the polls.


Electoral commission chairman Ivan Likhach said only 52 percent of the electorate cast ballots, just barely over the 50 percent required to make the vote valid, Interfax reported.


With returns from Sunday's ballot plus the first round of voting last May and a second round Nov. 30, a total of 198 legislators have been elected -- 24 more than the 174 needed for a quorum. The new parliament will have its first official session at the end of December.


Lukashenko had been running the country by presidential rule since May, when the old parliament's term expired. During the latest campaign, authorities appeared to do everything to keep voters at home.


State-run television ran a wide selection of entertainment programs and old but widely popular Soviet comedies, while polling stations canceled the traditional buffets offering delicious and usually scarce products.