Opposition manages to distribute its candidates among different constituenc

The registration of candidates for local deputy seats will end on March 15. Will opposition representatives have to compete with each other in the same constituencies?

The co-leader of the steering committee for creation of “Belarusian Christian Democracy” Vital Rymasheuski has told ERB that they recommended their candidates to reach an agreement with colleagues in advance to avoid competition.

Vital Rymasheuski: “We advised our candidates to monitor whether representatives of other political parties were going to register in their constituencies. I think all problems were solved in advance in all the constituencies where there could be any serious competition”.

Nothing is known about such “intersections” at the moment. If it happens, everything will depend on the candidates: what kind of people they are, how strong they can be and how active their campaign is.

The administration of the European Coalition concluded an agreement with the United Democratic Forces and the Belarusian Independent Bloc to avoid a situation where their candidates could be in each other’s way. The coordinator of the coalition Mikola Statkevich has informed about it.

Mikola Statkevich: “We have concluded an agreement with both the coalitions: the BIB and the UDF. We have sent the results of the agreement to our regional affiliates and they have considered them as they all know each other in the provinces”.
That is why, he says, nobody in the way.

However, the head of the United Civil Party, co-leader of the United Democratic Forces Anatol Lyabedzka claims that the UDF’s idea “to distribute” candidates to different constituencies “hung in mid-air”. That is why competence is unavoidable. At the same time he does not exclude that the democratic forces may ignore elections in constituencies where there will be no democratic representatives in election commissions.

Anatol Lyabedzka: “Our position will depend on the way our district election commissions will be created. If there are no representatives of democratic forces, we may recommend candidates withdraw from the elections in constituencies where they will only have to compete with representatives of the authorities or where a number of representatives of democratic organizations are registered”.
The deputy head of a left-wing party “Fair World” Valery Uhnalyou does not see any problem in competition. He says that democrats take part in the elections for PR rather than seats.

Valery Uhnalyou: “We know that they will not count votes. They will write what they are going to write. If there are no elections, there is no competition for seats. So the most important thing is not a seat but the struggle for electors and work with them”.
A coordinator of the Movement “For Freedom” Ales Zarembyuk has chosen the most interesting way to avoid competition. He has registered his initiative groups in 15 out of 25 constituencies in Masty District.
Ales Zarembyuk: “I will finally register in the constituency where there will be a representative of the current system because any competition with democrats is senseless”.

However, even Ales’s colleagues from the Movement do not understand why he could not reach an agreement with his “rivals” and go to different constituents instead of getting scattered like this.
See also:

Will opposition candidates compete with each other during local elections?

Has the opposition ignored territorial and district commissions?