Belarussian President-for-Life Alexander Lukashenko, in power since 1994, will run again in the upcoming December 19 presidential elections, an official at the country's electoral commission said yesterday.Lukashenko, 55, had previously said he would seek a new five-year term. His closest challenger pulled out earlier this month, saying he believed the poll would be rigged.
Analysts say that Lukashenko will have little trouble winning re-election.
He controls most media in the country of 10mn wedged between Poland and Russia and has won popular support by maintaining Soviet-era subsidies.
Speaking to students on the day his re-election bid was announced, Lukashenko hailed Belarus's state-dominated economy as a model.
The global financial crisis, he said, showed the perils of relying excessively on the private sector.
To overcome the crisis, countries "have strengthened the role of the state which Belarus has always done", Lukashenko said, according to the Interfax news agency.
"Suddenly the Belarus model proved to be eagerly sought," he added.