Alexander Lukashenko has extended his 31-year rule by winning a controversial seventh term in Belarus. Amid accusations of election rigging, political repression, and growing reliance on Russia, the autocratic leader’s grip on power remains firm.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is projected to take victory in the virtually uncontested election by a greater margin than he did in 2020.

Election officials say Lukashenko received 86.8 percent of vote amid accusations the vote was neither free nor fair.

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Long-time leader of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, once dubbed "Europe's last dictator", arrived to cast his ballot. Then, while Belarusians were still voting, candidate Lukashenko gave a four-and-a-half hour press conference live on state TV.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a longtime ally of Vladimir Putin, claims victory with 87.6% of the vote in a controversial election denounced by the West as a sham. Critics highlight the suppression of opposition and jailing of dissidents,

Belarus under Lukashenko has become embroiled in the battle between NATO-backed Western Europe and Vladimir Putin’s Russia. Meanwhile, Belarus’ record on human rights – and its complicity in Russia’s war in Ukraine – have led to extensive sanctions and diplomatic isolation of the Eastern European nation, worsening the life of its people.

Russian, Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko casts himself as a plain-spoken strongman and "president of the ordinary people".