Belarus strongman extends his rule after an election rejected by opposition and the EU

Belarus’ authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko has extended his more than three decades in power in Sunday’s orchestrated election that the opposition and the European Union rejected as a sham. The country’s Central Election Commission declared Lukashenko the winner on Monday, saying he garnered nearly 87% percent of the vote after a campaign in which four token challengers all have praised his rule. Lukashenko’s opponents, many of whom are imprisoned or exiled abroad by his unrelenting crackdown on dissent, called the election a sham — much like the last one in 2020 that triggered months of mass protests and a violent crackdown that brought condemnation and sanctions from the West.