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 Western governments rejected as a sham.

Belarus’ authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko is all but certain to extend his more than three decades in power in Sunday’s election that is rejected by the opposition as a farce after years of sweeping repressions.

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.

Belarus' election commission has declared Alexander Lukashenko the winner for a seventh term. Ronan Keating on boyband fame in the 90s: 'Our duty of care meant nothing' 9 items you have around your home that are worth more than you think Just Stop Oil activists storm West End stage and stop show starring Sigourney Weaver Whale shark floats over to scuba divers off Thai coast ‘I walked 25k steps per day for a year,