Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, left, meets with Valery Vakulchik, chief of the Belarusian state security service, KGB, in Minsk, Belarus, June 1, 2020. (NIKOLAI PETROV / BELTA POOL PHOTO VIA AP)

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko decided on Wednesday to dismiss the government ahead of a presidential election in August, local media reported.

According to the Belarus Belta news agency and Belarus-1 TV channel, Lukashenko held a meeting to discuss the composition of a new government on Wednesday morning.

Belarus, the former Soviet republic of 9.5 million, is strategically located between Russia and European Union member Poland

But the new government has not yet been announced. The current government has been in office since Aug 18, 2018, under the leadership of Prime Minister Sergei Rumas.

Lukashenko said he had started planning the restructuring of the government six months ago, but the rearrangement would not be significant as the country is facing a crisis due to the coronavirus.

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"It's not about any revolutionary rearrangement. ... A new generation of leaders has grown up and worked well in government. Why change them? They can work," he said.

He said that the country should engage more proactively, especially in the economic sphere, in order to get out of the crisis with minimal losses.

According to Reuters, the election is scheduled for Aug 9, with Lukashenko, who took office in 1994, widely expected to win a sixth term in office.

However, this year's election in Belarus is likely to be one of the most unpredictable as the president is facing his biggest political challenge in years, Reuters said.

The former Soviet republic of 9.5 million is strategically located between Russia and European Union member Poland.

The Associated Press reported late last month that hundreds of people protested in Minsk after Lukashenko confirmed that he is running for reelection, as presidential term limits were abolished in a 2004 referendum. Belarus police did not intervene in the demonstrations, reports said.

Dissatisfaction with the government's handling of the COVID-19 outbreak contributed to the demonstration, the Euronews network said.

Earlier, the government and Parliament held discussions and decided not to postpone the elections despite the pandemic.

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As of Thursday, Belarus had more than 45,000 cases of coronavirus infections, with 248 deaths.

Belarus is one of the few countries that did not introduce restrictions on public life, and did not impose lockdown measures or social distancing rules to fight the pandemic. Shops, schools and public transport continued to function as normal.

Minsk also hosted a military parade of 3,000 soldiers on May 9 to celebrate Victory Day despite a rise in infections.