Scandalous start: Opposition to try electing single candidate in spring
The Congress of Democratic Forces will be held, four opposition leaders announced at the BPF office on November 17. The democratic forces are unaware
“It is a great step forward. The agreement on choosing the single candidate has been reached by 5 out of 7 participants. Five participants have already signed the document,” BPF leader Alyaksei Yanukevich said at the beginning of the press conference.
The press conference was rather usual. Journalists were gathered half an hour before the beginning. BCD representative Pavel Sevyarynets did not attend it ‘due to urgent affairs’ and the regulations of the future Congress were not ready – journalists were promised to get them ‘some time later’.
Social democrat Iyryna Veshtard, Adrei Dzmitryyeu from Tell the Truth and Yuras Hubarevich from the movement For Freedom also appeared there. Everyone expressed a hope that ex-communists from the Fair World and even Anatol Lyabedzka from the UCP would sign the document. However, the latter refuted the information. This is a game prepared by members of the People’s Referendum, not the democratic opposition as a whole, he told Euroradio.
“Representatives of the United Civil Party could not sign it. They are choosing the single candidate of the People’s Referendum. We are not members of the structure and cannot participate in it.”
It became even weirder later. Co-leader of the Belarusian Christian Democracy Pavel Sevyarynets whose signature had been proudly demonstrated at the meeting told Euroradio that the decision was supposed to be announced on December 1. Kalyakin and his colleagues had to make their decision by then. That is why Yanukevich, Hubarevich, Veshtard and Dzmitryyeu’s action is improper.
“Five structures signed a possible procedure of the Congress of Democratic Forces. We agreed that the final decision could be made only when six participants agreed on it and that we would wait until December 1. Mr. Lyabedzka or Mr. Kalyakin had to agree to it before we could make it public. That is why I think that it was improper to announce it,” Pavel Sevyarynets said.
He promised to discuss the situation with the BCD. It is not clear what it will result in.
Alyaksei Yanukevich explained the scandal by a remark on Facebook. “It was necessary to end the drag and make some radical steps… The UCP and Fair World will need to make their decisions now,” he wrote.
The list of signees. No UCP.
We will see what the drag will result in on November 30. Syarhei Kalyakin and the Fair World will need to decide how they will participate in the presidential election campaign-2015.
