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.

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

Europe’s longest-serving leader won re-election in a contest widely believe to have been rigged. The result cements the power of a leader whose country is considered Russia’s staunchest ally.