Lukashenko, Longtime Ally of Moscow, Secures 7th Term as Belarus President

Western politicians and opposition figures cry foul, saying the election unfairly favored the incumbent leader.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko attends the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation member states leaders' summit in Astana, Kazakhstan, on July 4, 2024. Sergei Savostyanov /Sputnik /POOL AFP via Getty Images

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has won a seventh term in office after winning a Jan. 26 election that critics, including Germany’s foreign minister, claim was unfair.

“You can congratulate the Republic of Belarus; we have elected a president,” Igor Karpenko, head of the country’s official election commission, told reporters after votes had been counted.