Belarus presidential elections to be held on 9 August

The Belarusian parliament said on Friday presidential elections would be held on 9 August, the news agency Belta reported, with the incumbent Alexander Lukashenko, who has ruled the country since 1994, widely expected to win a sixth term in office.

Lukashenko won 83.5% of the vote in during the last election, in 2015, according to Belarus' electoral commission. His closest rival, Tatiana Korotkevich, got just 4.4% of the vote.

Part of Belarus' fractured opposition has announced that it intends to unite and put forward a single candidate to participate in the August election.

Western countries have not recognised any of Belarus' election campaigns as meeting international standards since 1996.