The date of inauguration was announced today by the Central Election Commission of Belarus.
On March 25, Alyaksandr Lukashenka will formally assume the office of President of Belarus for the seventh time. He has not relinquished power since 1994, although the international community has not recognized the legality of his rule since 2020.
,,According to the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus, the presidential oath is taken in solemn circumstances in the presence of members of the Presidium of the All-Belarusian People's Assembly, deputies of the House of Representatives and members of the Council of the Republic, judges of the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court no later than two months from the day of the election of the President.
The presidential elections in Belarus were held on January 26 in an atmosphere of state terror. According to the Belarusian Central Election Commission, Lukashenka won with officially 86.82 percent of the vote.
The international community did not recognize his victory because opposition candidates who were imprisoned or forced to emigrate were not allowed to run.
The previous swearing-in ceremony was organized in secret and took place on November 6, 2020 - one week after the brutal repression of the Dziady memorial march, the last mass demonstration against the rigging of the presidential elections.
The choice of March 25 as the date for the swearing-in ceremony is no coincidence and can be seen as an attempt by Lukashenka to appropriate one of the most important dates in Belarusian history.
The Belarusian patriotic movement at home and abroad celebrates Freedom Day, which falls on the anniversary of the proclamation of independence of the Belarusian People's Republic (BPR) in 1918.
This holiday has been opposed since the beginning of Lukashenka's rule because of its pro-independence, anti-Russian, and anti-Soviet character. The regime also bans the use of the white-red-white flag and the Chase coat of arms - symbols of the BPR and the Republic of Belarus in 1991-1994, and originally of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Lukashenka's state refers to the legacy of the USSR, with which the Belarusian People's Republic unsuccessfully fought for independence.
Due to mass repression, Freedom Day has been celebrated in Belarus only in secret since 2020. The 107th anniversary of the proclamation of the Belarusian state will be celebrated by emigrants, including in many Polish cities. It is expected that this year's national holiday will turn into a protest against Lukashenka's usurpation of power.
pj / en.belsat.eu
