Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko extended his 31-year rule with a massive win in a presidential election that Western governments have rejected as a sham, according to preliminary results on Monday.

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,

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.

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 that Western governments rejected as a sham.

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

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

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Over the years, the country’s leadership has remained unchanged, with President Alexander Lukashenko securing repeated victories since Belarus gained independence. As political