The European Union considers the so-called presidential elections in Belarus to be fraudulent. Brussels does not recognize Alexander Lukashenko's legitimacy, according to the head of European diplomacy,

Aleksandr Lukashenko has awarded himself a seventh term as president of Belarus, with the West calling the so-called vote a sham and introducing additional sanctions. Belarusian political observer Artsiom Shraibman told the Kyiv Independent that Lukashenko faces uncertain future after the vote.

Belarus held an orchestrated election over the weekend that the opposition and the EU rejected as a farce, extending President Lukashenko's more than 30 years in power.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko extended his rule in a controversial election rejected by the opposition and the EU as illegitimate. The election came amidst a harsh crackdown on dissent and amid ongoing international scrutiny.

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union rejected the election in Belarus on Sunday as illegitimate and threatened new sanctions. Belarus held an orchestrated vote virtually guaranteed to give 70-year-old autocratic President Alexander Lukashenko yet another term on top of his three decades in power.

Belarusian leader and Russian ally Alexander Lukashenko extended his 31-year rule on Monday after electoral officials declared him the winner of a presidential election Western governments rejected as a sham.

The European Union will not lift sanctions against the government of Belarus's autocrat Alexander Lukashenko following the country's "sham" presidential elections, the bloc's top diplomat Kaja Kallas said on Sunday.

As an East African bloc urged an immediate ceasefire in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwandan-backed M23 rebels who seized the city of Goma extended their advance on Wednesday, and Congo said it planned a campaign to recover lost territory.

STORY: Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko extended his 31-year rule with a massive election win.The country held a presidential election on Sunday.According to results published on the Central Election Commission's Telegram account,

Belarus' President Alexander Lukashenko pardoned 15 prisoners as a gesture before an election expected to extend his long rule. Critics call the election a sham with key opposition jailed. Lukashenko faces no serious challengers and aims to improve ties with the West amid heavy sanctions.

Belarus’ authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko has extended his more than three decades in power in an orchestrated weekend election that the opposition and the European Union rejected as a farce.

Belarus on Sunday held an orchestrated election virtually guaranteed to give its 70-year-old autocrat, Alexander Lukashenko, yet another presidential term on top of his three decades in power.