The Belarusian president, Alexander Lukashenko, has signed a new law granting him lifelong immunity from criminal prosecution and preventing opposition leaders living in exile from running in future presidential elections.
The new measure appears aimed at further shoring up Lukashenko’s power and eliminating potential challengers in the country’s next presidential election, which is due to take place in 2025.
The law significantly tightens requirements for presidential candidates and makes it impossible to elect opposition leaders who have fled to neighbouring countries in recent years.
Belarus was rocked by mass protests during Lukashenko’s controversial re-election in August 2020 for a sixth term, which the opposition and the west condemned as fraudulent.
The law also says the president and members of his family will be provided with lifelong state protection, medical care, and life and health insurance.
“We will ensure that the dictator is brought to justice,” Tsikhanouskaya said, emphasising that there were still about 1,500 political prisoners behind bars in Belarus, including the Nobel peace prize laureate Ales Bialiatski.
The original article contains 416 words, the summary contains 168 words. Saved 60%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
This is the best summary I could come up with:
The Belarusian president, Alexander Lukashenko, has signed a new law granting him lifelong immunity from criminal prosecution and preventing opposition leaders living in exile from running in future presidential elections.
The new measure appears aimed at further shoring up Lukashenko’s power and eliminating potential challengers in the country’s next presidential election, which is due to take place in 2025.
The law significantly tightens requirements for presidential candidates and makes it impossible to elect opposition leaders who have fled to neighbouring countries in recent years.
Belarus was rocked by mass protests during Lukashenko’s controversial re-election in August 2020 for a sixth term, which the opposition and the west condemned as fraudulent.
The law also says the president and members of his family will be provided with lifelong state protection, medical care, and life and health insurance.
“We will ensure that the dictator is brought to justice,” Tsikhanouskaya said, emphasising that there were still about 1,500 political prisoners behind bars in Belarus, including the Nobel peace prize laureate Ales Bialiatski.
The original article contains 416 words, the summary contains 168 words. Saved 60%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!