Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko was on track to extend his 31-year rule with 87.6% of the vote in a presidential election on Sunday, according to an exit poll broadcast on state TV, after hurling defiance at the West and defending the jailing of dissidents.

EU said it will not lift sanctions against Alexander Lukashenko's government following 'sham' presidential elections Belarus's autocrat Alexander Lukashenko, in power since 1994, won re-election Sunday in an election without real competition and slammed by the European Union and much of the West as a "sham",

Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko is set to cruise to victory after more than 30 years in power. Sunday's presidential election has been slammed as a sham, with his rivals broadly seen as government stooges.