Lukashenko not to participate in pre-election debates

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has announced that he does not have time for pre-election debates and is not following the course of the election campaign.

“To be honest, I am not following it. I don’t have time for that. I know that debates are taking place. But I haven’t seen any of them. There is no time for debates now; we don’t need words today; we need actions. We need to develop and fight, so we need actions, not words, and therefore I continue to be engaged in those actions,” Lukashenko noted.

Presidential elections in Belarus are scheduled for Jan. 26, 2025. There are five candidates on the electoral list, including the incumbent leader of the country. Lukashenko has been holding the presidency since 1994 and is running for a seventh term.