Lukashenko to sign decree on transition of presidential powers to Security Council ‘in case of emergency'

A week ago, during the nationwide subbotnik day, Aleksandr Lukashenko announced the signing of an important decree. According to him, this document is to be one of the most important decisions of his presidency. The head of state did not disclose any further details then, and different “experts” began developing various conspiracy theories: “Lukashenko will give Belarus away to Russia”, “A Russian military base will be placed in Belarus” and so on and so forth.

Talking to the media during his visit to Narovlya District, Aleksandr Lukashenko explained that all his decisions would concern exclusively the internal situation in the country and would answer the question: what if the opponents of the authorities succeed in assassinating the president?

“Tell me, if there is no president tomorrow, do you guarantee that everything will be fine? No. Therefore, in this case I am going to sign a decree in the near future as to how the power in Belarus will be structured. If the resident is killed, the Security Council will take over the presidential powers immediately. The state of emergency must be instantly declared, up to the military level, if someone approaches the border. The Security Council should make the decision. That is why I said that I would sign a decree and determine who would govern the country ‘in case of emergency',” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

The head of state added that such a need is unlikely to come, but it is not the time to let one's guard down. “I have to envisage everything. That is why this decree will be signed. We will actually have a collective president in the form of the Security Council. Yes, there will be a chairperson: when there is no president, the prime minister is replacing him. The prime minister will preside, but all decisions will be made by secret ballot to avoid any pressure. Both the civilians and military in the Security Council will decide when the presidential election will take place, whether to declare a state of emergency or not, how to act and so on,” said the Belarusian leader.

Aleksandr Lukashenko added that the decision to adopt such a decree had been taken long ago. “The decision was taken at the very beginning of all these events. It is not about me wanting to surrender or transfer something to someone. It is never going to happen. I am ready to do everything for the sake of our country,” the president said.