Lidziya Yarmoshyna, Chairperson of the Belarusian Central Election Commission (CEC), proposed to hold the 2020 presidential election on August, 9.
According to her, the political authorities of the country have had consultations with the CEC and the House of Representatives (the lower chamber of the Belarusian parliament).
“A unanimous decision has been reached to hold the election on August, 9” state-run news agency BelTA quotes Yarmoshyna.
Dollowing her speech at the parliamentary session, the Belarusian MPs have set the country’s presidential election for that date.
Alyaksandr Lukashenka has been President of Belarus since 1994. Currently, a number of Belarusian opposition activists are trying to unite in selecting a single candidate for the 2020 presidential election. However, amid the coronavirus outbreak, the voters’ activity is extremely low.
Meanwhile, the Belarusian leadership is hardly following WHO instructions on preventing the spread of the novel coronavirus: even mild quarantine measures have not been imposed; sports events are taking place; the authorities are getting ready to involve 3,000 persons and stage a Victory parade on May, 9. At the same time, it is not ruled out that the pandemic will have a negative impact on Lukashenka’s plans as well: in the worst-case scenario, his careless attitude to the COVID-19 threat might do him a disservice when Belarusians go to the polls.