Alexander Lukashenko has been declared the winner of the 2020 Belarus presidential election with 79.7 percent of the votes, earning him a sixth consecutive term in office, AFP reports.

Having led the country since 1994, the 65-year-old was seen as a favourite candidate heading into Sunday's poll.

The presidential election was seen as a referendum on his 26-year rule, and its campaigns were regarded the most dynamic since 1994.

Over the past 26 years, President Lukashenko never got less than 70 percent of votes.

Lukashenko's main rival Svetlana Tikhanovskaya went into the vote hoping to bank on support from young voters and the upper middle class.