The Upcoming Elections in Belarus

On September 26, Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka arrived in New York to take part in the 70th session of the General Assembly of the United Nations. His speech is expected on September 29. Upon arrival, Lukashenka met with Christine Lagarde, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), to discuss the resumption of the IMF’s loan program for Belarus. The IMF expressed its willingness to do so in exchange for the implementation of structural reforms within the Belarusian economy. The program of reforms was developed by the Belarusian government in the spring of 2015; the last IMF mission to Minsk (July 8–15) negotiated some changes in that program, including the reduction in the role of the state in the economy. It is expected that the new IMF loan will amount to $3.5 billion, just like the 2009–2010 loan, which, in the words of Lukashenka, helped Belarus cushion the painful effects of the international financial crisis (Tut.by, September 27).