Translated material
Hard start
Lukashenko called his opponents enemies of the people
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko harshly criticized his opponents, calling them enemies of the people. The Belarusian leader made these statements at the congress of the federation of trade unions during his first public speech after the start of the election campaign in Belarus. The date of the presidential election became known this week - December 19.“They are not oppositionists at all. They are enemies of the people. Wherever it is possible to do worse for the state, they are there. Yesterday Europe and America put pressure on us, they are there. Today Russia is pressing, they are there,” Lukashenko said. Many Belarusian political scientists believe that the main factor influencing the course of the elections will be the reduction of Russian benefits for the Belarusian economy and the lack of support from the Kremlin for Alexander Lukashenko.
However, for now, analysts doubt the possibility of success for the government’s opponents. There is no unity in the ranks of the opposition, and more than a dozen politicians have announced their intention to run for the post of head of state - in particular, the deputy head of the United Civil Party Yaroslav Romanchuk, oppositionist Andrei Sannikov, and it is possible that Alexander Milinkevich, who was the only opposition candidate, will participate in the campaign in the 2006 elections. It is expected that Milinkevich will make a statement regarding his intentions today.
The leader of the civil initiative "Tell the Truth" Vladimir Neklyaev, a famous Belarusian poet, yesterday announced his intention to run in the upcoming elections at a special meeting with journalists. He first announced his intention to enter politics in the spring of this year. In an interview with Vremya Novostey in August, Vladimir Neklyaev described the reasons that prompted him to begin political activity: “The situation in Belarus needs to be changed, such a need has been brewing for a long time. I decided to go into politics after seeing the futility of the efforts of the current opposition.” Neklyaev’s campaign slogan is “I came so that you can win.”
Not all opposition candidates will have a real opportunity to compete for the presidency. To register as a candidate, you need to collect 100 thousand voter signatures. The process of registering initiative groups that will collect signatures has now begun.