Belarusians are voting in a closely-managed presidential election that is all but certain to extend the one-man rule of Alexander Lukashenko, in power since 1994 and Europe’s longest-serving leader.

No credible opponents were allowed to run against Alexander Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus since the 1990s.

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union rejected the election in Belarus on Sunday as illegitimate and threatened new sanctions. Belarus held an orchestrated vote virtually guaranteed to give 70-year-old autocratic President Alexander Lukashenko yet another term on top of his three decades in power.

Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko appeared set to win a seventh term in office on Jan. 26 in an election widely dismissed by the West and opposition groups as a sham. Lukashenko has reportedly secured 86.

Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko is set to extend his three decade-reign as exit polls show him winning the presidential elections -- which the West has called a 'sham' -- with 87.6 per cent of the votes,

President Alexander Lukashenko has won a a seventh term in office in Belarus, according to the country’s Central Election Commission. According to a statement by the Central Election Commission, the 70-year-old leader took nearly 87% per cent of the vote in Sunday’s election after a campaign in which four token challengers all praised his rule.