Election 2010: why didn't opposition candidates withdraw?

“Withdrawing will make the opposition and the Square stronger. We cannot let the election be recognized by the international structures. If the election is recognized, we will be defeated. Withdrawing now will be a strong move," claimed Nyaklyayeu two years ago, at a picket near the President's Administration on December 9, 2010.

However, the statement did not result in anything although it was covered by mass media and published on the Internet. Nyaklyaeu has confessed that he did not expect any result.

“I did not really expect that my suggestion would be accepted. The mistake of that election was the fact that the opposition had only one scenario."

The scenario was the Square. There were no other variants, Nyaklyayeu said. On the other hand, the candidates did not really know what they wanted to do during the Square.

BPF candidate Ryhor Kastysyou was the only person who openly supported the idea of mass withdrawal. It did not happen because the candidates had their own narrow purposes, he said. Some of them did not even want to win!

“Different candidates had different purposes. Some wanted Russian support, others supported Belarusian values."  

Vital Rymasheuski was one of the most active candidates in 2010. He remembers Nyaklyayeu's sudden suggestion. He also remembers that he had learnt about everything from mass media.

“Neither me, nor Pavel Sevyarynets, head of my team, were offered it. Neither Kastusyou, nor Nyaklyayeu told us about it."

He thought that it was a PR move of "Tell the Truth", Rymasheuski says. That is why he continued the struggle until the end.

Yaraslau Ramanchuk is even more categorical. The candidate of the United Civil Party says that he did not trust Nyaklyayeu. That is why he did not withdraw.

“Mr. Nyaklyayeu did a lot during the campaign. He refused many things too. Some of them concerned me. That is why I did not trust his suggestion."

Many candidates stopped trusting Yaraslau Ramanchuk after the election. But this is a different story. Ales Mihalevich was ready to withdraw together with Kastusyou.

“It was an interesting idea. It could be discussed. But I do not like politicians making statements for the public. It always looks unreal and it seems that they want to make themselves agreeable to the audience."

Almost all the candidates agree that they could have withdrawn if the statement had not been made in mass media but at a joint meeting. Who knows what could have happened then.