When the Belarusian state TV channel asked voters how they cast their votes in the presidential election, 87.6 percent responded that they voted for Aleksandr Lukashenko.
The official result may be delayed for several days, but it is unlikely to change the outcome of the exit poll significantly.
Thus, "Europe's last dictator" can look forward to five new years as leader – not an unexpected result, given that several of the 70-year-old's political opponents have been imprisoned.
According to the AP news agency, he was up against four other candidates – all of whom support the leader.
Doesn't Care
The EU has already condemned the election as a "farce" and on Sunday, Foreign Minister Kaja Kallas stated that the union will maintain its sanctions and targeted measures against the regime.
"Democracy requires free, fair, and transparent elections. That is not the case in Belarus," she said in a statement.
Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard (The Moderate Party) wrote in a joint statement with the other Baltic countries that they support "those who fight for a free, democratic, sovereign, and independent Belarus".
"A future democratic Belarus has a place in the European family," they wrote.
But Lukashenko "doesn't care" about what the EU thinks, he said at a press conference, according to AFP.
"No Job for a Woman"
According to the human rights group Viasna, there are currently 1,245 political prisoners imprisoned in the country. Tens of thousands have fled abroad, mainly to Poland and Lithuania.
They all "made a choice", said the president on election day.
Some chose prison, others exile. We have never kicked anyone out. If they are in prison, they opened their mouths too wide.
Lukashenko has ruled his country since 1994, but said during the election campaign, according to AP, that he does not cling to power. He claims to want to "quietly and calmly hand over to the next generation".
As long as it's not a woman, he said at the election day press conference.
This is not a job for a woman. I am completely against women holding this post. A woman cannot be a dictator, but we have many men who could become leaders, he said, according to AFP.
Belarus is barely half the size of Sweden and has a population of over 9 million people.
A century ago, Belarus became part of the Soviet Union. After gaining independence in the early 1990s, the country has remained closely tied to the powerful neighbor Russia.
The country is ruled by the authoritarian Aleksandr Lukashenko. He won the presidential election in 1994 and has strengthened his power over the years. He is often referred to as "Europe's last dictator".
When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the forces also departed from Belarus, which has a long border with Ukraine.
After the 2020 presidential election, Lukashenko declared himself the winner again. According to the official figures, he received 80 percent of the votes, but the election result was condemned by the opposition and large parts of the international community. In the second half of 2020, hundreds of thousands of Belarusians protested on the streets.
The extensive democracy movement was crushed with the help of Russia. Up to 300,000 fled when opposition leaders were forced to choose between leaving Belarus or being imprisoned. Top politician Svetlana Tichanovskaja is a leading figure in a democratic coordination council operating in exile, mainly from Lithuania and Poland.
Sources: UN, Landguiden, AFP
