As Belarus votes amid repression, what drives Alexander Lukashenko, the president likely to secure a seventh term.

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.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko extended his rule in a controversial election rejected by the opposition and the EU as illegitimate. The election came amidst a harsh crackdown on dissent and amid ongoing international scrutiny.

China and Russia offered Minsk their congratulations.Exiled opposition figurehead Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya on Monday dismissed as fraudulent a presidential election that saw Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko declared the winner.

STORY: Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko extended his 31-year rule with a massive election win.The country held a presidential election on Sunday.According to results published on the Central Election Commission's Telegram account,

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko speaks to the media after ... relying on subsidies and political support from close ally Russia. He let Moscow use his territory to invade Ukraine in ...

Alexander Lukashenko was declared the landslide winner of presidential elections in Belarus. His victory was seen as a foregone conclusion in a country he's run for more than 30 years.

Belarus on Sunday held an orchestrated election virtually guaranteed to give its 70-year-old autocrat, Alexander Lukashenko, yet another presidential term on top of his three decades in power.

Britain and Canada have imposed sanctions targeting the regime of Belarus' dictator president, Alexander Lukashenko, following his disputed election over the weekend to a seventh term.

The E.U. has called Sunday’s election a sham. Lukashenko, running virtually unopposed, said he was “too busy” to even campaign.

Belarusians vote on Sunday in a presidential election to extend Alexander Lukashenko's 30-year stranglehold on power in which he has crushed all opposition and helped his ally Russia invade Ukraine.