BELARUS-ELECTIONS/OPPOSITION Belarus opposition calls for boycott of upcoming presidential election
Record ID:
140513
BELARUS-ELECTIONS/OPPOSITION Belarus opposition calls for boycott of upcoming presidential election
- Title: BELARUS-ELECTIONS/OPPOSITION Belarus opposition calls for boycott of upcoming presidential election
- Date: 28th August 2015
- Summary: MINSK, BELARUS (AUGUST 28, 2015) (REUTERS) NEWS CONFERENCE BY LEADERS OF BELARUSSIAN OPPOSITION IN PROGRESS JOURNALISTS (SOUNDBITE) (Belarussian) BELARUS OPPOSITION LEADER AND FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, NIKOLAI STATKEVICH, SAYING: "Our position, which we call on the society to support, is that the election has already been falsified. Everything has happened even before it (the vote) began. And the best moral position for us is to ignore this vote and this election show." PHOTOGRAPHER (SOUNDBITE) (Belarussian) BELARUS OPPOSITION LEADER AND FORMER PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION CANDIDATE, NIKOLAI STATKEVICH, SAYING: "We will demand to stop this campaign and to carry out a normal free democratic election. This last goal is not for the current political campaign called "presidential election". It may take us years. But we will reach our goal." JOURNALISTS (SOUNDBITE) (Belarussian) BELARUS OPPOSITION LEADER AND FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, VLADIMIR NEKLYAYEV, SAYING: "We have a candidate from the democratic opposition. And our goal - and we have discussed it with Mr. Statkevich - is not to leave this candidate to the regime, but to try and pull him onto the side of the democratic opposition, so that this candidate would do what I was talking about - withdraw his candidacy from this election. This is the most powerful step he can make." JOURNALIST TAKING NOTES NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS CAMERA ON TABLE NEKLYAYEV SAYING: (Belarussian): 'WE WILL NOW WORK FOR BELARUS! FOR ITS FUTURE! FOR AN INDEPENDENT EUROPEAN BELARUS!'
- Embargoed: 12th September 2015 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Belarus
- Country: Belarus
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVAAG7KPCJ95BHL3GG0AWVGYXN0J
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Leaders of the Belarussian opposition called on their supporters on Friday (August 28) to boycott October's presidential poll, saying it has already been rigged.
"Our position, which we call on the society to support, is that the election has already been falsified. Everything has happened even before it (the vote) began. And the best moral position for us is to ignore this vote and this election show," said Belarus opposition leader and former presidential candidate Nikolai Statkevich.
Statkevich was among six jailed opposition figures, recently pardoned by Belarussian president Aleksandr Lukashenko. He was given a six-year jail sentence in May 2011 on a charge of organising mass street protests against Lukashenko's re-election at the time.
"We will demand to stop this campaign and to carry out a normal free democratic election. This last goal is not for the current political campaign called "presidential election". It may take us years. But we will reach our goal," said Statkevich at a news conference in Minsk.
Lukashenko, who has been in power in the ex-Soviet republic since 1994 is running for a fifth consecutive term in an election set for October 11.
"We have a candidate from the democratic opposition. And our goal - and we have discussed it with Mr. Statkevich - is not to leave this candidate to the regime, but to try and pull him onto the side of the democratic opposition," said Belarus opposition activist Vladimir Neklyayev.
"This is the most powerful step he can make," he added.
He was referring to Tatiana Korotkevich, from the "Speak the Truth" group, who claims she managed to collect some 100.000 signatures required to be registered as a presidential candidate.
Lukashenko, who a top U.S. diplomat once said ran Europe's last dictatorship, is largely ostracised by Western governments because of his intolerance towards political opposition.
Although Western sanctions are still in place, there have been small signs of a thaw this year, with Lukashenko distancing himself from the tough policies of Russia - his country's biggest ally - towards neighbouring Ukraine, and reviving contacts with European Union and U.S. officials.
The European Union is an important trade partner for Belarus and the two sides have been working for years on closer relations to remove trade barriers. Progress has stalled because of what the European Union sees as Belarus' lack of commitment to democracy and political and civil rights. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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