Alexander Lukashenko, the autocratic leader of Belarus who claimed victory in another election derided as a sham, played a "dirty game" in releasing an American hostage to coincide with the ballot, the country's opposition has told Newsweek.

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.

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

Final votes are still being counted, and the result isn't expected to be released until later on Monday, but state television predicted Lukashenko would win with almost 88% of the vote. #EuropeNews

Alexander Lukashenko, who has ruled the ex-Soviet state for 31 years, held a four-hour press conference musing that some of his opponents "chose prison", after winning 88 per cent of the vote.

MINSK: Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko was on track to extend his 31 year rule with 87.6 percent of the vote in a presidential election on Sunday (Jan 26), according to an exit

Exit polls have Alexander Lukashenko on track to extend his 31 year rule with nearly 88% of the vote. Western governments have slammed the vote as a sham, with Lukashenko's rivals broadly seen as government stooges.

This is a blatant affront to democracy. Lukashenko doesn’t have any legitimacy.” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said.

The Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia, Aleksandar Vulin, congratulated Alexander Lukashenko on his "victory in democratic elections." It's important to note that the EU stated that the elections in Belarus "were neither free nor fair.

Last week, a man at an automobile plant said that he hadn’t been following an election campaign very closely because he’d been busy. This wasn’t a clichéd vox pop with a disaffected heartland voter, but rather a comment made by Alexander Lukashenko,

MINSK, January 28. /TASS/. The presidential election in Belarus was carried out at a high standard, smoothly, contrary to what some in the West had predicted, Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko said during a meeting with the Pan-African Parliament delegation.