Lukashenko claims Belarus election win with 87% of vote

Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko has extended his 31-year rule with a massive win in a presidential election that Western governments have rejected as a sham, according to preliminary results.

"You can congratulate the Republic of Belarus, we have elected a president," the head of the country's Central Election Commission of the Republic Igor Karpenko told a press conference in the early hours of Monday, according to Russian state media.

According to results published on the Central Election Commission's Telegram account, Lukashenko took 86.8% of the vote in Sunday's election.