From the Liveblog of
Sunday, February 27, 2022
Belarus approves hosting nuclear weapons and Russian forces permanently
Belarusian authorities said voters approved allowing the country to host nuclear weapons and Russian forces permanently, results showed, part of a package of constitutional reforms that also extended the rule of leader Alexander Lukashenko.
Central Election Commission head Igor Karpenko says 65.16 percent of referendum participants voted in favor of the amendments and 10.07% voted against, Russian news agencies report.
According to Karpenko, voter turnout stood at 78.63%.
To come into force, the amendments need to receive at least 50% of the vote with a turnout of over half the electorate.
International monitors say Belarus’s elections are not free or fair. Lukashenko’s victory in 2020 elections sparked massive protests and a brutal crackdown.
Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994, promised the referendum in the wake of historic protests against his disputed re-election in 2020.
By amending the constitution Lukashenko, 67, follows in the footsteps of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who in 2020 oversaw a vote on constitutional changes that made it possible for him to remain in power until 2036.
The constitutional changes also grant immunity to former leaders for crimes committed during their term in office.
Russia is a key ally of Belarus and last week Lukashenko allowed Russian troops to use Belarusian territory to invade Ukraine from the north.
Belarus inherited a number of Soviet nuclear warheads following the break-up of the USSR in 1991, according to the Nuclear Threat Initiative think tank, which it then transferred to Russia.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
