Alexander Lukashenko is leading in the presidential election in Belarus. The Central Election Commission has published preliminary data.
At least 86.82 percent of voters cast their ballots for Alexander Lukashenko. His closest rival, Sergei Syrankov, won 3.21 percent of the votes.
The turnout reached 85.7 percent.
A total of five candidates were registered: the incumbent head of state Alexander Lukashenko, a member of the House of Representatives and leader of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Oleg Gaidukevich, an entrepreneur and former member of the House of Representatives Anna Kanopatskaya, the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party Sergei Syrankov, and the chairman of the Republican Party of Labor and Justice Alexander Khizhnyak.
Recall, the previous presidential election in Belarus was held on August 9, 2020. According to the Central Election Commission, Alexander Lukashenko then received 80.1 percent, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya — 10.1 percent, 4.59 percent voted against all.
That same day, protests began on the streets of Minsk, participants demanded a review of the preliminary voting results. Mass protests lasted for several months, then were harshly suppressed.
In 2020, after the adoption of the new Constitution, Alexander Lukashenko promised that he would not hold this post again. In January 2025, he said that he was not clinging to power. If he wins, this will be his seventh presidential term.
