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. The country's exiled opposition leader called the result “sheer nonsense.

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.

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.

President Alexander Lukashenko, often dubbed "Europe's last dictator," offered to free Anastassia Nuhfer whose arrest was linked to protests in 2020, a source told the AP.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is projected to take victory in the virtually uncontested election by a greater margin than he did in 2020.

Britain, the European Union and their allies on Monday condemned what they called "sham" presidential elections in Belarus, with Britain announcing sanctions targeting Belarusian officials and defence companies.

President Donald Trump's new Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that a U.S. citizen imprisoned in Belarus under Joe Biden has since been released.

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.

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The E.U. has called the election a sham, and President Alexander Lukashenko has said he’s “too busy” to even campaign.

Europe’s longest-serving leader won re-election in a contest widely believe to have been rigged. The result cements the power of a leader whose country is considered Russia’s staunchest ally.

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 o