With many of his political opponents either jailed or exiled abroad, the 70-year-old Lukashenko is back on the ballot, and when the election concludes on Sunday, he is all but certain to add a seventh term as the only leader most people in post-Soviet Belarus have ever known.

DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) - Exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya has accused Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko of playing games with the West by drip-feeding releases of political prisoners ahead of an election on Sunday in which he is set to extend his 31-year rule.

Belarus will hold a "presidential election," which experts describe as a hollow spectacle and a disinformation manoeuvre. Alyaksandr Lukashenka aims to demonstrate his strength and control over the country through this maneuver.