The next presidential election in Belarus will be held on 26 January 2025, BelTA reports. Chairman of the Central Election Commission of Belarus Igor Karpenko noted that the inauguration of incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko took place on 23 September 2020. According to the country’s constitution, new elections should be held no later than 20 July 2025. However, the law does not prohibit holding elections earlier than that. Therefore, the CEC recognised 26 January 2025 as the best date for the elections.
At the same time, Russian Ambassador to Belarus Boris Gryzlov warned of possible attempts to destabilise the election campaign. He assured that Russia is ready to assist Belarus in the event of such threats.
“Both the head of the Belarusian state and the heads of the security forces warned of possible actions of this kind on the eve of the election. This fact in itself indicates that the law enforcement agencies of Belarus are well aware of the preparations for provocations. And if they are aware, they are ready,” Gryzlov said, as quoted by The Moscow Times.
This situation also reflects the general atmosphere in the country after the 2020 protests. The Belarusian volunteer Yankee stressed that after those events, most of the protesters left the country, and those who remained were intimidated.
“In 2020, people did not dare to take radical actions. After the protests, many were arrested and sent to prison,” he recalled.
According to him, today most Belarusians understand that they are under constant surveillance by the authorities and therefore avoid criticising the Lukashenka regime.
