Is Alyaksandr Milinkevich getting ready for presidential elections 2015?

Karnyayenka will urge Milinkevich to have a serious attitude to the coming elections, Ramanchuk advises he should stop being engaged in pseudo politics and drop out, Rymasheuski says the statement of the leader of the Movement “For Freedom” is a strategic mistake and Mihalevich has not heard Milinekvich’s words. Alyaksandr Milinkevich has made a speech at the regional conference of democratic forces in Mahileu and claimed that the main task of the country’s democrats is to get ready for the elections that will take place in 2015 or even in 2020. To cut it short, he means the elections that will be held after the authorities “have to resign”. The politician thinks that no elections can be held now as nobody will count votes for real.

Even his deputy Victar Karnyayenka disagrees with such a position of the leader of the Movement “For Freedom”.

Victar Karnyayenka: “Of course, the conditions for democratic elections have not been created yet. There are no legal guarantees for democratic procedures and so on. However, I think that participation in this struggle should be serious. That is why I disagree with the idea that the elections will affect nothing while the next ones will… Probably, we disagree with each other here. I will try to dispose Mr. Milinkevich to a serious struggle”.



Another presidential contender, the deputy head of the BNF party Ryhor Kastusyou, does not want to give up either.

Ryhor Kastusyou: “I can unambiguously claim that our approach to this election campaign is serious. Especially since the party has not taken part in elections seriously for many years. That is why our approach is very serious and we hope to win”.



The deputy head of the United Civil Party Yaraslau Ramanchuk has advised that Milinkevich should refuse from participation in the presidential marathon if he is in such a mood, to quit pseudo politics and to stop deceiving people.

Yaraslau Ramanchuk: “This is Alyaksandr Milinkevich’s huge mistake – he is not going to take part in the elections seriously. He should better drop out and not deceive people. Going there to “warm up” and to deceive people is unfair and just disgraceful”.



He explained why he considered the position of the leader of the Movement “For Freedom” unacceptable.

Yaraslau Ramanchuk: “We have a great chance to win the elections, to make the authorities capitulate and to reckon with democratic forces. I advise those who use the campaign for some private purposes to do it in the framework of civil initiatives. It would be more honest of them”.

Another presidential candidate, the co-leader of the steering committee for the creation of the Belarusian Christian Democracy Party Vital Rymasheuski has supported his colleague.

Vital Rymasheuski: “It is impossible to deal with something without having a serious attitude to it. Especially if it is politics and you address people. To put it mildly, it is wrong and erroneous to speak about some future elections if you decide to take part in these presidential elections. It is a strategic mistake made by some candidates. The position is very weak and it is doomed to a failure. You have to be serious struggling here and now. If we take part in the presidential elections, we do it to fight for power”.



One more politician with presidential ambitions was present at that conference in Mahileu – Ales Mihalevich. However, the politician assured that he did not hear Milinkevich say anything like that. He did not hear anything like that from other politicians wishing to take part in the presidential race either. He has a serious attitude to the campaign and is sure that 20% of electors will vote for him.

Ales Mihalevich: “I have always said that the elections are very serious and that there are chances to win them”.



The leader of liberal democrats Syarhei Haidukevich has refused to discuss such serious issues. He is spending vacations with his grandchildren at his daughter’s who lives in Germany now.  That is why he is not interested in politics at the moment.

Alyaksandr Milinkevich’s statement is interesting because he will be 68 during the presidential elections in 2015. According to Victar Karnyayenka, “Milinkevich’s eternal political youth” is possible and he may have future at the elections in 2015 and even in 2020. He says that everything depends on the fact whether there will be competition in democratic forces and how professional the movement will be at the elections. The main thing is he should not spoil everything with his statements.

Photo by: Zmitser Lukashuk