[ad_1]
After Lukashenko announced that in the August 9 elections he had defeated the political rookie, the opposition candidate Sviatlan Cichanouskaya, who had won 80 percent of the vote. Unprecedented protests began in the country. For a month, tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets to demand his resignation.
In an interview with Russian state media broadcast on Wednesday, Lukashenko said: “I tend to hold early presidential elections. I don’t rule it out.”
“I am saying this for the first time.”
VIDEO: See how the weekend was in Belarus: perhaps the largest crowd has gathered since the start of the protests
The opposition asked Lukashenko to acknowledge defeat and step down so that new elections could be held in accordance with international standards.
The regime’s force structures responded with waves of arrests, brutal violence against protesters, and a campaign of intimidation and expulsion of opposition leaders.
The president said it was too early to talk about the exact date of the snap elections, adding that the elections should take place after the implementation of his proposed constitutional reforms.
Cichanouskaya criticized Lukashenko’s plan to change the constitution, saying it was just a ploy to help him stay in power.
Lukashenko, who plans to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow in the near future, also said in an interview that any future steps towards further integration of the two countries must be based on the principle of equality.
Russia and Belarus have formed an allied state. Moscow has recently called for closer integration, but Lukashenko has repeatedly ruled out the possibility of uniting the two countries.
“We are a sovereign and independent state,” he told Russian state media reporters.
[ad_2]
