Belarus strongman extends his rule after an election rejected by opposition and the EU

Belarus’ authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko extended his more than three decades in power in Sunday’s orchestrated election that the opposition and the European Union rejected as a sham.

The Central Election Commission declared Lukashenko the winner in the early hours of Monday and reaffirmed it later in the morning, saying the strongman leader garnered nearly 87% percent of the vote after a campaign in which four token challengers all have praised his rule.

Lukashenko’s opponents, many of whom are imprisoned or exiled abroad by his unrelenting crackdown on dissent and free speech, called the election a sham — much like the last one in 2020 that triggered months of protests that were unprecedented in the history of the country of 9 million people.

Over the following four years, more than 65,000 people were arrested and thousands beaten, with the crackdown bringing condemnation and sanctions from the West.

The European Union has rejected the Sunday’s election as illegitimate and threatened new sanctions.

Lukashenko has been in power since 1994 and has ruled the country with an iron fist. He relies on subsidies and political support from Russia. Lukashenko allowed Moscow to use the country’s territory to invade Ukraine in 2022 and later hosted some of Russia’s tactical nuclear weapons.