On 26 January 2025, Belarusian dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka announced his ‘overwhelming’ victory in his seventh presidential election, claiming a record-high 86.8 per cent of the vote. This way, Lukashenka extended his rule to 2030. If everything goes according to his plan, by that time, a 76-year-old Lukashenka will have ruled Belarus for 36 years.

These so-called ‘elections’ were held under extraordinary security measures, repression, and in an atmosphere of total fear as we described here. Lukashenka still seems traumatised by the massive pro-democracy protests that took place all over Belarus in response to fraudulent elections in 2020. That is why he did everything to ensure the 2025 event would develop according to his scenario, without any surprises. Since 2020, the country has been facing an unprecedented wave of political repression, the exodus of over 350,000 pro-democracy Belarusians, and the destruction of civil society and independent media – see here.

Lukashenka had made it clear that he would not tolerate even the slightest signs of public dissent. It is therefore fair to assume that these ‘elections’ likely had the lowest real turnout in history. Voting stations and the country’s streets and squares looked empty.

Interestingly, for the first time in history, Lukashenka had to limit the scale of his ‘electoral triumph’. He did not dare to surpass the 2024 election result of Vladimir Putin, who declared his victory with 87.2 per cent support. This way, Lukashenka underlined his loyalty and subordination to his geopolitical master in Moscow.