<p>MINSK, Belarus — The <a href="https://www.noc.by/en/news/viktor-lukashenko-elected-president-of-belarus-noc/">Belarusian Olympic Committee</a> elected the son of President Alexander Lukashenko as leader on Friday, despite both men being suspended by the IOC and barred from the Tokyo Games.</p>
<p>The decision increases the chance of Belarusian athletes having to compete as an independent team under the Olympic flag in Tokyo.</p>
<p>Viktor Lukashenko was previously the national Olympic body’s vice president under his father, whose disputed victory in state elections last August led to <a href="https://apnews.com/article/europe-alexander-lukashenko-belarus-eastern-europe-elections-926a320c1520cd8ab0f683819ed88c4a">ongoing protests</a> in the former Soviet republic.</p>
<p>Both men were <a href="https://apnews.com/article/alexander-lukashenko-belarus-thomas-bach-2020-tokyo-olympics-olympic-games-e232d14d99e959297eba9bd5740b5544">suspended by the International Olympic Committee in December</a> for failing to protect athletes who took part in protests from discrimination.</p>
<p>“This is contrary to the fundamental principles of the Olympic Charter and therefore seriously affects the reputation of the Olympic movement,” IOC president Thomas Bach said in December.</p>
<p>Asked on Wednesday about the pending vote in Belarus, Bach said the IOC was monitoring but he would not speculate on possible consequences.</p>
<p>Alexander Lukashenko urged delegates to vote for his son in a statement posted on the national Olympic body’s website.</p>
<p>“There will be no theft, corruption, misuse of money under his leadership,” Alexander Lukashenko said. “Athletes and coaches will be treated kind and fair.”</p>
<p>Viktor Lukashenko, who advises his father on national security, is also <a href="https://apnews.com/article/europe-alexander-lukashenko-belarus-elections-presidential-elections-c9298793c07e5ed2989a36b0b49c8a18">under European Union sanctions</a> that prevent him from traveling in the 27-nation bloc.</p>
<p>The EU has not recognized the state election result that returned Alexander Lukashenko for a sixth term.</p>
<p>Neither of the Lukashenkos is currently allowed to attend the Tokyo Olympics, which are scheduled to open on July 23.</p>
<p>“As for me, I will still keep in touch with what is going on in sport,” Alexander Lukashenko said Friday.</p>
<p>The IOC will continue to help fund Belarusian athletes preparing for upcoming Olympics by paying scholarship money directly to them. Payments to the Belarusian OIympic Committee have stopped.</p>
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