Haidukevich: 100 thousand signatures collected in 5 days and now – goodbye!
The leader of Liberal Democrats has told ERB why he has decided to withdraw his candidature, whether he will support any other candidate and what is the strateg
A participant of the presidential elections in 2001 (2.48%) and 2006
(3.5%), the leader of the Liberal-Democratic Party Syarhei Haidukevich
has stopped the work of his initiative group. The politician sent the
corresponding information to the Central Election Commission on the
morning of October 8.
ERB: Why have you withdrawn your candidature? What has happened?
Syarhei
Haidukevich: We have collected 100 thousand signatures this morning.
And now I can tell you… 100 thousand 150 signatures in 5 days: we handed
out certificates only on Sunday.
ERB: So why withdraw you candidature?
Syarhei
Haidukevich: My goal during this campaign was to show to our party
members - to these dozens of thousands people - what was people’s
attitude to our party. We have understood that people’s attitude to us
is splendid. We can collect signatures instantly! However, we considered
it all and the candidate also considered the issue and we have decided
that our party should better not take part in it. We would like to be
spectators at this show.
ERB: Who should the electors who could support you at the elections vote for?
Syarhei
Haidukevich: No! It will not happen to me! That’s me and people from my
party will only vote for me. I cannot answer for a million people but I
have taken a decision. I will remain in sight. I do not need
advertising or taking part in pickets. I have just collected 100
thousand signatures in 5 days and I can say goodbye now!
ERB: It turns out that the Belarusian elections have been deprived of 100 thousand voters or even more?
Syarhei
Haidukevich: I do not care about it. I am not taking part in this show.
I’m a spectator and that’s easier… I have shown myself to everyone. To
you too. But you are right: you may count how many signatures I could
have got by October 28… Count yourself. Even if the process had slowed
down. However, as an experienced presidential contender I know that the
numbers just keep growing with time. You get loads of signatures at the
end! I know it because of the previous elections. However, I did not
have such an initiative group back then.
ERB: You initiative group was bigger that the President’s…
Syarhei
Haidukevich: 10 thousand 500 people! No matter how many times they
checked it and they found only 40 people out of 10 thousands! Thank God,
they cleared it a bit. They were people who had residence permits and
were not citizens. Okay! We think we have done the right thing. This is
our strong opinion.
ERB: Do presidential ambitions mean nothing
to you anymore? Literally, you promised “to butt” Lukashenka in an equal
struggle two weeks ago in an interview with ERB…
Syarhei
Haidukevich: We are thinking about the future, but I will not tell you
now… I am a strategist. We have preserved our party’s great potential.
We have not wasted our resources. We are thinking about the future.
Clever people will understand us.
ERB: But power is the goal of any political party…
Syarhei
Haidukevich: The aim of any political party is to get a strategic
result. We think we had to do so to reach it. The future is ours!
See also:
Haidukevich: I am 100% sure the opposition will side with Lukashenka to oppose to me!
