Alexander Rar: Europe will disregard how many seats opposition gets in parliament
Political analyst Yury Shautsou believes that Europe is expecting when the opposition will be allowed to have access to the media.
“First of all, opposition should get access to the electronic media. Secondly, Europe is expecting to see some oppositionists from the ranks of pro-Western groups in the parliament. Thirdly, I think they expect clear transformations within the opposition sector to take place after the elections”, Shautsou says.
In his view, the West will listen to the opposition if the latter does not recognize the elections. But the problem is that pro-democracy forces do not have an independent position.
German political analyst Alexander Rar says it does not matter how many opposition candidates make it to the parliament.
“The main thing for Lukashenka is to prove that during the current election campaign there are no violations; there is access to the media so that to create competition and debates. If Belarus accomplishes all these procedures by September 27, Europe will have to recognize the elections anyway, regardless of how many seats will be taken by pro- Lukashenka or opposition supporters.
Former presidential candidate Alexander Milinkevich does not regret that he is not taking part in the elections in the conditions when the opposition has a chance. He is confident that he would not be allowed into the parliament by the authorities. Milinkevich thinks that the only thing that can save the elections now is to allow independent observers to monitor the vote count.
“I think Europe should not lower the level of transparency of the elections for Belarus. The level should remain the same as for the rest of the countries. So far, it does not look like this election should be recognized. The only thing to save this election is to allow observers from pro-democracy parties and international observers to monitor the vote count. But I don’t really believe it is possible”.
Lyavon Barscheuski, a boycott supporter, does not fear to spoil relations with the West due to his “anti-Western” position with regard to elections. He reckons Europe will figure out who is who in the Belarusian politics.
“I hope that we have loyal supporters on our side who will also take a responsible decision. The West is watching who can do something and who has real force. Both the West and the East will figure out who is who in the modern Belarus. We are not really bothered by this as you could probably think”.
Thus, it may happen after the elections that the West will not be speaking the language of the opposition with the authorities. It is becoming increasingly interesting which language the opposition will speak with the authorities and the West.
Photo: Deutsche Welle
