Alexander Lukashenko wins seventh consecutive term as Belarus President

Alexander Lukashenko has been reelected for the seventh consecutive time as the President of the tiny Eastern European nation of Belarus, for a term of five years.

According to the Central Election Commission of Belarus, President Lukashenko won the Presidential election held in the country on 26 January 2025 with nearly 87% of the vote cast in his favor.

His election was criticized by the Western European countries and the exiled opposition leaders as a fraud. Alexander Lukashenko’s closest allies, Russia and China congratulated him on his re-election as the President of the country.

Alexander Lukashenko has been in power in Belarus since 1994 when he was elected as the President for the first time.

He is an authoritarian leader who has ruled the country with an iron hand.

Lukashenko and the Presidential Election in Belarus 

The presidential election was held in Belarus on 26 January 2025 in which apart from the incumbent President Lukashenko, four opposition candidates were allowed to contest the election.

 However, almost all the opposition candidates were supporters of Lukashenko.

In the last Presidential election held in 2020, there was a large-scale protest in the country after the announcement of the result. Lukashenko was accused of rigging the election by the opposition parties and the Western European government.

In response, his government launched a brutal crackdown on the opposition protest in which thousands were arrested and many prominent opposition leaders were exiled from the country.

Russian Support for Lukashenko 

Since his election in 1994, Lukashenko has shared close relations with the Russian leadership especially with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. 

He has allowed the Russian military to cross the Belarusian territory to attack Ukraine. Vladimir Putin has deployed Russian tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.

About Belarus 

Belarus is a tiny landlocked country in Eastern Europe.

Belarus was part of the Soviet Union and was one of its three Slavic Republics, the other being Russia and Ukraine.

It was earlier known as Byelorussia or White Russia.

It gained its independence in 1991 after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

Capital: Minsk

Currency: Belarusian ruble

President: Alexander Lukashenko