Lukashenko, who has ruled the nation for 26 years and also heads the National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Belarus, is said to have won with 80 per cent of the vote.

The result of the election has been disputed by the main opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya amid claims it was not conducted fairly.

It was met with protests in the Belarusian capital and in other cities, where demonstrators clashed with riot police.

Reuters reported at least one person had been killed and more than 210 are thought to have been detained during the protests.

Riot police used stun grenades, batons and made arrests as they attempted to disperse the crowd, while armoured vehicles and water cannons were brought to Minsk.

The Belarusian Interior Ministry denied that there had been any deaths.

The build-up to the election had been littered with controversy as many in the country vented their anger at the leadership of Lukashenko, an authoritarian figure in charge of what some have described as "Europe's last dictatorship".

Tikhanovskaya was forced to step in after her husband Sergei Tikhanovsky, who had planned to run against Lukashenko, was arrested in May and charged with inciting mass disturbances. 

Another opposition figure, Valery Tsepkalo, fled to Russia after fearing he would also be arrested.

Tsikhanovskaya, a a former teacher, received only 9.9 per cent of the vote but believed the actual result was much higher, citing the turnout at her rallies.

"I believe my eyes, and I see that the majority is with us," she said.

"We have already won, because we have overcome our fear, our apathy and our indifference."

Lukashenko became Belarusian President in the nation's first democratic election in 1994.

Belarus has been accused of numerous human rights violations during his time as President, with the country frequently detaining journalists and others who speak out against the regime.

Lukashenko did not face any challengers when he was last re-elected in 2015, but election observers reported problems in the counting of votes.

He has presided over the NOCRB since 1997 after succeeding Vladimir Ryzhenkov, who died a year earlier.