Top EU diplomat denounces 'sham election' in Belarus

The EU's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, has labelled the presidential election in Belarus a "sham," as voters cast their ballots.

The outcome of the vote is all but certain, with authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko set to appointed for a seventh term.

Lukashkenko had "clung to power" for 30 years, Kallas said in a post on X.

"He'll reappoint himself in yet another sham election. This is a blatant affront to democracy," she wrote.

"Lukashenko doesn't have any legitimacy."

Around 6.9 million people are eligible to vote in the former Soviet republic closely aligned with Moscow, but their ballots are not considered to count for much.