The smiling face of President Alexander Lukashenko gazed out from campaign posters across Belarus on Sunday as the country held an orchestrated election virtually guaranteed to give the 70-year-old autocrat yet another term on top of his three decades in power.

Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko appeared set to win a seventh term in office on Jan. 26 in an election widely dismissed by the West and opposition groups as a sham. Lukashenko has reportedly secured 86.

Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko is set to extend his three decade-reign as exit polls show him winning the presidential elections -- which the West has called a 'sham' -- with 87.6 per cent of the votes,