Belarusians are voting in a closely-managed presidential election that is all but certain to extend the one-man rule of Alexander Lukashenko, in power since 1994 and Europe’s longest-serving leader.

No credible opponents were allowed to run against Alexander Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus since the 1990s.

MINSK (Reuters) -Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko was on track to extend his 31-year rule with 87.6% of the vote in a presidential election on Sunday, according to an exit poll broadcast on state TV,

As Belarusians voted, Lukashenko sparred with the world's media at a press conference lasting more than four hours and 20 minutes. Asked how the election could be free and fair, given that all the main opposition figures are in jail or have fled the country,

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 that Western governments rejected as a sham.

The three-decade long rule of vindictive Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko, 70, was extended another six years Sunday, following a staged election condemned as a sham by Western governments. After a crackdown on protests against his rule in 2020,