Belarus’ authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko, who has been in power for over 30 years, is poised to extend his rule in an election that concludes Sunday and that the opposition dismisses as a farce.

Five years since the harsh crackdown on protestors after the 2020 election, critics are readying themselves for Belarus' election in January.

When Alexander Lukashenko emerged victorious from Belarus's presidential election in 2020, protesters came out on the streets to accuse him of election fraud and call for his resignation. Now Lukashenko is back on the ballot and is all but certain to win a seventh term on Sunday as the only leader most people in Belarus have ever known.