'Alternative' MP Kanapackaja shares impressions after one month in parliament

The deputies in the newly elected parliament of Belarus have only managed to distribute their portfolios and offices in the past one and a half months before taking off "to work in constituencies." Opposition MP Hanna Kanapackaja came to the Euroradio studio to share her impressions from the first weeks in parliament, what prevents her from proposing her bills and why she removed Luakashenka's portrait from the wall in her office.

Listen to full interview with Hanna Kanapackaja here:

Best quotes:

The level of bureaucracy is so high. The bills we developed have not been tabled and can be tabled only in November. At the moment, deputies work in their constituencies. It means I cannot gather members of my permanent commission in order to present the bills.

Since I was the only one to have voted against the candidature of Andreichanka as the speaker of the House of Representatives, I expected cautious treatment from fellow MPs. However, everyone treated me with understanding. Some of them even showed that he or she would have also voted against but…

I removed Lukashenka's portrait from the wall in the office and put it carefully on the bookshelf. I understood this property does not belong to me and I should preserve it. But I did not sign to receive it.

The office has a phone with access to VIPs. Judging by the numbers, I can call directly even the president. However, the first VIP I am going to call will be the education minister. I cannot let go the situation with the schoolgirl who died while collecting potato harvest iat a collective farm near Maladziecna.

I put forward my candidature for the post of the deputy chair at the Economic Policy Commission. What I heard in reply was that I was not mature enough. How come then the Constitution allows people of my age to run for presidency!

The workflow in the House of Representatives has numerous flaws! If I ran my business in the same irresponsible manner, I would be out of business in three to six months.

The House of Representatives must take responsibility for what is happening now in the country's economy.

First of all, we propose amendments to the Penal Code, aiming to abolish the notion of false entrepreneurship, as well as amendments to the Electoral Code.

People are mistaken when they think that deputies work only inside the Oval Hall in parliament. It is not indicative when we gather there and vote for something.

Only with the help of my MP mandate was I able to get an office to receive citizens. The office belongs to the Housing and Communal Services director!