Alexander Lukashenko, the autocratic leader of Belarus who claimed victory in another election derided as a sham, played a "dirty game" in releasing an American hostage to coincide with the ballot, the country's opposition has told Newsweek.

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.

MINSK: Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko was on track to extend his 31 year rule with 87.6 percent of the vote in a presidential election on Sunday (Jan 26), according to an exit

Belarus held an orchestrated election over the weekend that the opposition and the EU rejected as a farce, extending President Lukashenko's more than 30 years in power.

Five years after widespread protests tried and failed to topple Alexander Lukashenko, he has once again been re-elected as President of Belarus. According to the official result, Lukashenko received a resounding victory with 87 percent of the vote. But no one really believes it.

EU said it will not lift sanctions against Alexander Lukashenko’s government following ‘sham’ presidential elections.

Exit polls have Alexander Lukashenko on track to extend his 31 year rule with nearly 88% of the vote. Western governments have slammed the vote as a sham, with Lukashenko's rivals broadly seen as government stooges.

Victory “demonstrates your high political authority,” the Kremlin chief gushes about his counterpart in Minsk.

Belarus’ authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko is all but certain to extend his more than three decades in power in Sunday’s election that is rejected by the opposition as a farce after years of sweeping repressions.

By Mark Trevelyan (Reuters) -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 Western governments rejected as a sham.

Canada said on Monday it would impose sanctions on 10 individuals and 12 entities in Belarus, citing what it called "gross and systematic human rights violations" by Minsk.