Belarus' President Alexander Lukashenko has extended his more than three-decade rule in a controversial weekend election that has been widely criticized. The Central Election Commission announced Lukashenko's victory with nearly 87% of the vote, a result that has been met with skepticism as all four challengers in the race praised his leadership.
The political opposition in Belarus, many of whom are either imprisoned or exiled due to Lukashenko's crackdown on dissent, have labeled the election as a sham. The opposition's concerns are compounded by the fact that the 2020 election, which also faced allegations of irregularities, led to widespread protests and a subsequent crackdown resulting in thousands of arrests and incidents of violence.
