Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko appointed Igor Karpenko, former Education Minister as Belarus’ Central Election Commission (CEC) chief, to replace the long-term head Lidia Yermoshina who held the post since 1996.

Lukashenko said, as quoted by official news agency Belta that “as for the Central Election Commission, Igor Vasilyevich understands perfectly well.

“If the people support the proposed Constitution [changes to the Constitution], most likely, your candidacy will still be submitted to the Belarusian People’s Congress for approval.”

The president repeatedly stressed that Karpenko was a highly-qualified specialist and expressed hope he would be a good fit for the job, according to the media.

The new CEC’s chief was recommended to the post by Chairman of the House of Representatives Vladimir Andreichenko and Deputy Prime Minister Igor Petrishenko.

Igor Karpenko was born in 1964 in Novokuznetsk. In 2011-2016, Karpenko was vice mayor of Minsk and since 2016 he served as Belarusian Education Minister.