Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a longtime ally of Russia who has been in power since 1994, announced on Sunday his intention to run for another presidential term in 2025. He asserted, with a stubborn confidence, that he would stand again and urged opponents to hear his message: that he will present himself for reelection. This pledge follows a presidency that has sparked the largest protests in the history of the former Soviet republic when Lukashenko won the 2020 vote, a result that Western nations and many observers did not recognize.
He was quoted by the state news agency BELTA describing the move as something that carries profound significance. He stated that no responsible leader abandons the people who fight for them, a sentiment he articulated after casting his vote in Belarusian parliamentary and municipal elections, elections that the opposition called for a boycott to protest the political system.
The president, whose 2020 reelection was widely disputed by Western governments, emphasized that he would not permit his detractors to install a change of power. He claimed that lessons would be drawn from past mistakes and warned rivals not to expect a change that would favor them. His comments underscored a continuing insistence on maintaining control amid domestic tensions and international scrutiny.
Lukashenko also explained that stepping down tomorrow would amount to a betrayal of the country. He acknowledged that a year remains before the upcoming presidential contest and that circumstances could shift in the meantime, suggesting openness to developments while reaffirming his commitment to remaining in office through the next electoral cycle.
Simultaneously, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, the Belarusian opposition leader in exile, had previously urged a boycott of the parliamentary elections. Official figures indicated that by 9:00 local time a turnout of 43.64 percent of the electorate had been recorded. Regarding the legitimacy of the elections, Lukashenko reiterated that Belarus does not require Western approval to validate its political processes.