Belarus Election Commission Confirms Presidential Election In August

Belarus will hold its presidential election between August 9 and August 30, the chairwoman of the country’s Central Election Commission (CEC) said on May 7.

CEC head Lidziya Yarmoshina told Russia’s Interfax news agency that her commission will ask lawmakers to select a specific date within that interval.

Earlier in the day, the chief of the press service of the House of Representatives of Belarus, Vitaliy Ermolovich, told reporters that the legislature would hold an extraordinary session on May 8 to decide the date of the election.

President Alyaksandr Lukashenka said on May 4 that the presidential poll will be held “in a timely manner in accordance with the constitution before August 30. He also repeated his earlier statements confirming that he will seek another term in office.

Lukashenka has ruled the country of 9.5 million people since 1994 and is currently serving his fifth presidential term. Belarus abolished presidential term limits in a referendum in 2004.

Based on reporting by Interfax, Belapan, and BelTA