Lukashenko starts government reshuffling ahead of elections in Belarus

MINSK. Jan 25 (Interfax) - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has appointed Alexander Khodzhayev as the new health minister and has announced pending rotation in every ministry and agency ahead of the election campaign in Belarus.

"A reshuffle, personnel rotation is underway in every ministry and agency. It's a common practice. We have always reshuffled the government and local authorities ahead of parliamentary and presidential elections. This includes regional executive committees and the Minsk City Executive Committee," the presidential press service quoted Lukashenko as saying.

The rotation is necessary "so that people could see who we will be working with when making a decision in various elections whether to trust a particular team," Lukashenko said.

"I introduced such practice a long time ago. This time is not an exception," he said.