Lukashenko plot to stay in power

THE Belarus government has proposed changes to the country’s constitution that may allow authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko to remain in office until 2035.

The proposed amendments are published on the president’s official website and the website of the state news agency Belta, and Belarusians are encouraged to submit their comments, suggestions and opinions.

The amendments bring back limits on presidential terms abolished during Mr Lukashenko’s tenure, allowing a president only two five-year terms in office. It will only take effect once a “newly elected president” assumes office, however, which gives Mr Lukashenko an opportunity to run for two more terms after his current term expires in 2025.

“Lukashenko opened a path to the presidency for himself until at least 2035, when he will be 81 years old,” independent political analyst Valery Karbalevich said.

A referendum on the amendments is planned for February. They will be considered approved if more than 50% vote for them, with a turnout threshold at 50%.

Belarus was rocked by months of unprecedented mass protests after he was awarded a sixth consecutive term in office in the August 2020 presidential vote, which the opposition denounced as a sham.

He responded with a brutal crackdown that saw more than 35,000 people arrested, thousands beaten by police and many forced to seek refuge abroad.

Opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who ran against Mr Lukashenko in the August 2020 election and was pressured to leave the country shortly after, said: “It’s a lie no one will believe in. Choosing between Lukashenko and Lukashenko is impossible.

“And we won’t choose him, like we didn’t choose him last year.”

Alexander Lukashenko is attempting to remain Belarus president until 2035 after six previous terms.