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.

Alexander Lukashenko, Europe’s longest-serving leader, has extended his 31-year rule in Belarus after being declared the winner of a presidential election that his exiled opponents and Western countries have denounced as a sham.

Having visited the polling stations, I can say that people make informed choices, independent observer, former member of Spain's Congress of Deputies Angeles Maestro said.

Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, taking two hours to address the media at a press conference on election day, spoke at length about US President Donald Trump, Belarusian fears of being annexed by Russia and Europe's ties to Washington.

The last time Belarus staged a presidential election in 2020, authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko was declared the winner with 80% of the vote. That triggered cries of fraud, months of protests and a harsh crackdown with thousands of arrests.

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.

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.

By Andrew Higgins Europe’s longest-serving leader, President Aleksandr G. Lukashenko of Belarus, cruised to his seventh election victory in a row on Sunday in a contest that his exiled opponents ...

Rubio's statement came following waves of prisoner releases by Lukashenko, often dubbed “Europe’s last dictator.” Belarus’ oldest rights group, Viasna, says that over 1,250 people remain ...

in power since 1994 and Europe’s longest-serving leader. The last time Belarus held a presidential election in 2020, Lukashenko claimed a landslide victory with more than 80% of the vote.

Belarus’ opposition activists and Western officials on Monday denounced an orchestrated election that extends the more than three-decade rule of authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko.

"Many joint and national forces continue to be stationed near the borders of Belarus and Russia, and they are only intensifying their military activity, scale, and joint exercises," Andrey Serdyukov s