Putin ally Lukashenko has dominated Belarus with an iron fist for greater than than three many years and is now on seventh time period.
Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko has signalled he doesn’t intend to hunt one other time period in workplace, whereas rejecting hypothesis that he’s lining up his son as successor.
The self-professed “last and only dictator in Europe” hinted at his intentions in an interview with TIME journal, saying that whoever replaces him ought to “not break something immediately”, however preserve growing the nation to be able to keep away from any “revolutionary breakdown”.
The 70-year-old, an in depth ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has led Belarus by means of greater than three many years of authoritarian rule and was re-elected in January for a seventh five-year time period.
Requested by TIME’s interviewer whether or not he would stand within the subsequent election, he mentioned he was “not planning” something, although he did teasingly add that his United States counterpart, Donald Trump, was “wanting respectable” at practically 80.
Lukashenko additionally rejected longstanding hypothesis that he is likely to be grooming his son Nikolai to succeed him.
“No, he’s not a successor. I knew you’d ask that. No, no, no. Ask him your self, he could also be actually offended,” he mentioned in excerpts from the dialog, printed in Russian by Belarusian state information company BelTA.
Lukashenko instructed TIME that he was truly able to step down within the final election, however modified his thoughts after the general public demanded he stay in his put up as a result of they weren’t prepared for him to go.
However critics, together with German Overseas Minister Annalena Baerbock, mentioned on the time that the vote was neither free nor honest, largely as a result of all main opposition figures had both been jailed or compelled to hunt exile overseas.
Lukashenko was additionally accused of rigging the 2020 election, which ended with nationwide protests and a sweeping safety crackdown.
A number of hundred individuals convicted of “extremism” and different politically associated offences have been launched since mid-2024, however rights teams say practically 1,200 are nonetheless behind bars.
Lukashenko denies there are any political prisoners within the nation.
In 2012, Lukashenko instructed the information company Reuters, “I’m the final and solely dictator in Europe. Certainly, there are none wherever else on the earth.”