Belarusian parliament sets presidential election for Aug 9
MINSK. May 8 (Interfax) - The Belarusian National Assembly's House of Representatives, the lower chamber of Belarus's parliament, adopted a decision at its special session to set the country's presidential election for August 9.
"The deputies voted in favor of holding the election of the president of Belarus on August 9," Chairman of the House of Representatives' Foreign Affairs Commission Andrei Savinykh told Interfax after the session.
According to earlier reports, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on May 4 that a date of the country's upcoming presidential election would be set within the next few days. The latest possible date of the election is the end of August.
Under Belarusian legislation, the country should hold its next presidential election no later than August 30.
Lukashenko said earlier that there was no reason for postponing the presidential election, which should take place within the timeframe set by the Constitution.
Belarus held its previous presidential election on October 11, 2015. Voter turnout stood at 86.75%. Lukashenko, who has been the country's president since 1994, won with 83.5% of the vote.