Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko extended his rule in a controversial election rejected by the opposition and the EU as illegitimate. The election came amidst a harsh crackdown on dissent and amid ongoing international scrutiny.

Final votes are still being counted, and the result isn't expected to be released until later on Monday, but state television predicted Lukashenko would win with almost 88% of the vote. View on eurone

The European Union will not lift sanctions against the government of Belarus's autocrat Alexander Lukashenko following the country's "sham" presidential elections, the bloc's top diplomat Kaja Kallas said on Sunday.

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.

Alexander Lukashenko is projected to win Belarus's presidency with 87.6% of the vote, amid Western critics labeling the elections a 'sham'. Despite past protests and accusations of election rigging, Lukashenko persists in power,

The EU's top diplomat said Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, who is certain to win a seventh presidential term in Sunday's election after barring most opponents, "doesn't have any legitimacy".

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Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, often dubbed "Europe's Last Dictator," is set to secure a seventh term following a highly contentious election on Sunday. The vote, widely criticized by opposition leaders and international observers,

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

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko secured another term in an election dismissed by the opposition and EU as a sham. His regime, marked by crackdowns and ties with Russia, remains under scrutiny.

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union rejected the election in Belarus on Sunday as illegitimate and threatened new sanctions. Belarus held an orchestrated vote virtually guaranteed to give 70-year-old autocratic President Alexander Lukashenko yet another term on top of his three decades in power.