Alexander Lukashenko, the sitting president of Belarus, has been reelected for a seventh term, according to preliminary data from the Central Election Commission of the republic. He secured 86.82% of the votes. Meanwhile, 3.6% of voters cast their ballots against all candidates. Voter turnout was reported at 85.7%, according to Kommersant.

According to the election commission, Oleg Gaidukevich, leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, received 2.02% of the votes. Entrepreneur Anna Kanopatskaya garnered 1.86%, First Secretary of the Communist Party’s Central Committee Sergey Syrankov achieved 3.21%, and Alexander Khizhnyak, head of the Republican Party of Labor and Justice, obtained 1.74%.

The election took place on January 26. At a press conference following the vote, Lukashenko stated he was not seeking a successor to transfer power. However, he noted that the country’s leadership reserve for the future has already been formed.

The electoral process proceeded without the participation of Western observers, and polling stations abroad were not opened. The European Union announced it does not consider the elections free or democratic and plans to continue its sanctions policy against Minsk.