Belarusian leader and Russian ally Alexander Lukashenko extended his 31-year rule on Monday after electoral officials declared him the winner of a presidential election Western governments rejected as a sham.

Victory “demonstrates your high political authority,” the Kremlin chief gushes about his counterpart in Minsk.

Many Western leaders are decrying Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko's re-election victory Sunday, calling it a sham along with the country's opposition.

By Mark Trevelyan (Reuters) -Belarusian leader and Russian ally Alexander Lukashenko extended his 31-year rule on Monday after electoral officials declared him the winner of a presidential election that Western governments rejected as a sham.

STORY: Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko extended his 31-year rule with a massive election win.The country held a presidential election on Sunday.According to results published on the Central Election Commission's Telegram account,

Opposition leader-in-exile Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya labeled Lukashenko’s successful reelection as “sheer nonsense.” Before Sunday’s vote, she had encouraged voters to cross out every candidate’s name on the ballot.

As an East African bloc urged an immediate ceasefire in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwandan-backed M23 rebels who seized the city of Goma extended their advance on Wednesday, and Congo said it planned a campaign to recover lost territory.

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