Election officials said Lukashenko received 86.8 percent of the vote while claiming that the vote was not free or fair.
Former Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko he has been declared the winner of the debate presidential electiongetting the seventh term in a row, according to the country's electoral commission.
Lukashenko, whose four opponents in the polls were loyal to him and praised his 30-year rule, took 86.8 percent of the vote, according to the first results published by the Central Election Commission on his official Telegram account on Monday.
“You can thank the Republic of Belarus, we have elected a president,” Igor Karpenko, the head of the organization, told a press conference.
Election officials said Sunday's voter turnout was 85.7 percent, with about 6.9 million people eligible to vote.
The Belarusian leader has won every presidential election since 1994in research that his opponents, Western governments and rights groups have dismissed as a “sham”.
'A guaranteed success'
But Russian President Vladimir Putin praised Lukashenko, saying the election showed he had the “unquestionable” support of the people.
“Your decisive victory in the election clearly testifies to your political authority and the people's unquestionable support for the political process of Belarus,” Putin said, according to a Kremlin statement.
“You are always a welcome and beloved guest in Russia. As we agreed, I look forward to seeing you soon in Moscow.”
The war in Ukraine has tied Lukashenko more than ever to Putin, and Russian nuclear weapons have now been sent to Belarus.
Chinese President Xi Jinping also praised Lukashenko, Beijing media reported.
“Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory message to Lukashenka on his re-election as President of Belarus,” state news agency Xinhua said.
'There's no choice'
Some politicians, especially in Europe, said the vote was not free or fair because independent media were banned in the country and all opposition leaders were arrested or forced to go abroad.
“The people of Belarus had nothing to do. It is a painful day for all those who want freedom and democracy,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock wrote on X.
“More than 1,200 people in Belarus have been imprisoned without trial for daring to speak out.”
The country's last presidential election in 2020 ended with international protests, unprecedented in the history of the country of 9 million people. The opposition and the West accused Lukashenko of rigging the election and imposed sanctions.
In response, his government launched a massive crackdown, leaving more than 1,000 people in prison, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Ales Bialiatski, founder of the Viasna Human Rights Center.
When asked about the arrest of his opponents, Lukashenko told a press conference on Sunday that they decided their own fate.
“Some chose prison, others chose deportation, as you say. We did not expel anyone from the country,” he said at a press conference that lasted more than four hours.
Expatriate opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya told Reuters Lukashenko made his decision as part of a “dictator's tradition”.