(ANSA-AFP) - MOSCOW, 25 FEB - Belarusian President Alexander
Lukashenko, who has held power since 1994, said on Sunday he
intended to seek re-election next year, which could extend his
grip on the country to 36 years. He was speaking on the day
Belarus, a neighbour and ally of Russia, held parliamentary
elections decried as a sham by the opposition. "Tell them I will
run in the (2025) election," Lukashenko said, according to a
social media channel run by his team.
Sunday's ballot is the first nationwide poll since the
presidential election of 2020. That vote sparked huge protests
against Lukashenko, who is widely believed to have rigged the
result to extend his decades-long rule. The president has since
orchestrated a huge crackdown on dissent, jailing hundreds of
opponents and forcing thousands into exile. There are no real
opposition candidates in Sunday's parliamentary elections.
Lukashenko's exiled opponents have urged Belarusians to stay at
home and boycott the vote. Lukashenko warned the authorities had
"learnt our lesson" since the 2020 protests and there would be
"no rebellions" during Sunday's election. (ANSA-AFP).
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