Belarus: Will Lukashenko make it to another election?
While protest activity may be declining, analysts say Lukashenko may not last until the next presidential election. “I think these protests will continue until the changes we have been long waiting for take place, until people feel free.” Belarus has witnessed weekly protests since the August 9 election, which the opposition claims was rigged in favour of President Alexander Lukashenko. While the struggle between Lukashenko and opposition forces increasingly seems to be deadlocked, analysts told Al Jazeera that the Belarusian president is unlikely to make it to another election. “It is indeed possible that, over the winter, the protests will thin out, but still discontent will not go away,” Belarusian political scientist Alyaksandr Klaskouski told Al Jazeera. According to Tatiana Stanovaya, founder of political analysis firm R Politik, the Kremlin does not see the Belarusian president as “electable” any more, but is sticking with him for lack of an alternative, given its distaste for the opposition and Lukashenko’s repeated purges of possible competitors within the political elite.
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