Belarus' opposition activists and Western officials on Monday denounced an orchestrated election that extends the more than three-decade rule of authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko. The country's exiled opposition leader called the result “sheer nonsense.

Alexander Lukashenko, who has ruled the ex-Soviet state for 31 years, held a four-hour press conference musing that some of his opponents "chose prison", after winning 88 per cent of the vote.

No credible opponents were allowed to run against Alexander Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus since the 1990s.

By Ben Aris in Berlin Incumbent Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko swept to a landslide victory in Sunday’s presidential election taking 86.82% of votes, according to preliminary results said the Central Election Commission Chairman Igor Karpenko at a press conference on January 26.

In Belarus, another round of rigged elections took place on Sunday. On that day, Alexander Lukashenko held a press conference that lasted over four hours. A BBC correspondent posed a question the dictator did not anticipate.

Over the years, the country’s leadership has remained unchanged, with President Alexander Lukashenko securing repeated victories since Belarus gained independence. As political