Belarusian president Alyksandr Lukashenka has dismissed his government, two months before the presidential election. Earlier that day he had been discussing the possible formation of a new government with several officials, including the Chairman of the Council of the Republic, Chairman of the House of Representatives, the Head of the Presidential Administration and the Secretary of the Security Council.
Lukashenka announced that he wants to form the new composition of the government before the scheduled presidential elections are held on August 9th. He stated that the formation of a new government had been a long time coming and that it always happens on the eve of an election. The president determines the composition of the new government in advance so that people, who either vote for or against, understand who will be resolving the country’s issues. Lukashenka also stated that “a sharp scrapping, replacement of all members of the government would be wrong” so we can expect no revolutionary changes.
This also goes for the presidential election. Lukashenka has been in power since 1994 with little opposition. The abolishment of presidential term limits in 2004 means that Lukashenka can now stay in power until his death.
For now, Lukashenka has only announced the appointment of a new prime minister. Roman Golovchenko will replace Sergei Rumas who has been in power since 2018. Golovchenko has previously held the post of Chairman of the State Authority for Military Industry and has experience in the diplomatic service. Lukashenka said of him “He is a good organizer. But, most importantly, he is a reliable person who can be trusted. He understands things, has first-hand knowledge. He is a reliable man, a patriot of his country, was born and raised in Belarus. Having traveled the world, he did not stay anywhere, in any country. It is very important for us now that patriots and professionals come to power.” What the rest of the government will look like remains to be seen.
Sources: TASS / Radio Free Europe / BELTA / 112 International / XINHUA NET / China Daily
Photo: Wikimedia
