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

Many voters intend to shun this weekend’s presidential election in Belarus, according to research carried out by Chatham House.

Lukashenko, who has ruled the country since 1994, moved the election from August to January, reducing the likelihood of mass protests in freezing weather.

Belarusians vote on Sunday in a presidential election to extend Alexander Lukashenko's 30-year stranglehold on power in which he has crushed all opposition and helped his ally Russia invade Ukraine.

Belarusians go to the polls this weekend to vote in a presidential election that is almost certain to see incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko returned to office for a seventh term. The country was rocked by the largest mass protests since independence in the massively falsified previous elections in August 2020,