Belarusian leader and Russian ally Alexander Lukashenko extended his 31-year rule on Monday after electoral officials declared him the winner of a presidential election Western governments rejected as a sham.

Belarusian strongman President Alexander Lukashenko is poised to extend his rule into a fourth decade in a tightly-controlled vote where he faces no opposition.

Reclusive Moscow-allied Belarus will hold a presidential election Sunday, with President Alexander Lukashenko set to cruise through to victory unchallenged for a seventh term, prolonging his three-decade authoritarian rule.

Alexander Lukashenko is expected to extend his 31-year rule with 87.6% of the vote, according to an exit poll broadcast on state TV. Four opposition candidates appeared on ballots, but all are loyal to Mr Lukashenko and have praised his rule.

Belarus autocrat Alexander Lukashenko said Sunday that his jailed opponents had "opened their mouths too widely" as he voted in an election set to extend his three-decade rule in the

As an East African bloc urged an immediate ceasefire in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwandan-backed M23 rebels who seized the city of Goma extended their advance on Wednesday, and Congo said it planned a campaign to recover lost territory.

Many Western leaders are decrying Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko's re-election victory Sunday, calling it a sham along with the country's opposition.

Robin Bjalon in Minsk, with Vassily Koloskov in Warsaw Jan 26, 2025 Jan 26, 2025 Updated 3 mins ago Belarus autocrat Alexander ... Lukashenko's Belarus has retained much of the Soviet Union's ...

2023 [Sputnik/Alexander Demyanchuk/Pool via Reuters] Early in his presidency, Lukashenko’s foreign policy echoed the old Soviet Union’s position during the Cold War. He railed against Western ...

President Alexander Lukashenko prides himself for having ... national election after Belarus gained independence from the Soviet Union. Criticism of the strongman is banned. Most people AFP ...

Belarus’ authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko is all but certain to extend his more than three decades in power in Sunday’s election that is rejected by the opposition as a farce after years o