State-approved exit polls showed the president winning 79.7 percent of the vote while his main opponent Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, a former English teacher, received 6.8 percent, according to the newswire. .

Police had blocked off streets and at least 10 people were detained in one spot in Minsk, Reuters reported. .

Thousands of people took to the streets in the Belarusian capital while protesters clapped, shouted “victory” and honked their car horns in solidarity with the opposition, according to the newswire. .