Milinkevich vows fair vote count on streets

On Monday, May 3, Movement for Freedom leader Alexander Milinkevich officially announced his presidential bid during the 2011 elections. "I want to tell you frankly that I feel strong, I know a lot and I have a will. What the most important is that there are many people who support me and on whom I count", he said in his speech. Before the official launch, Milinkevich and his wife prayed in a church.





Nobody could hear what Milinkevich and his wife Ina Julei were asking God for, but having announced his presidency bid, the politician said he has a plan to make Belarus a truly European nation within five years.




First of all, Milinkevich vows to restore the democratic principle of the power division, enshrined in the 1994 Constitution, to hold general and local elections, to release the government and courts from the political, financial and administrative controls of the executive power, to liquidate the state's monopoly over the media and to ensure the press freedom.

But his promises on economic reforms were the most impressive. He said: "We will make it this way that investments will flow into the country. We know how to do it, because we are trusted. If the business situation is conducive in this country, we will manage to attract up to $10 billion annually, raising economy growth up to 7-10 percent p.a."



The politician also supports the private property for land, a transparent national budget. He also vows to abolish the president's fund and to support small and medim-size businesses and to change the taxation policy. He also spoke against the construction of a nuclear power plat (the way it has been proposed now) but did not object the modern nuclear power technologies in principle. He said our thermal power stations should be upgraded to produce more energy.



He admitted he was not a strong proponent of a totally liberal economy and said social benefits should be preserved at the moment.

Milinkevich promised European education to the youth, reforms of the healthcare and reforms in the utilities sector. He also wants to make friends both with the West and the East.


Milinkevich's goal is to bring Belarus to the European Union. To make it possible, he must win elections through a fair vote count.

Alexander Milinkevich: “If they don't count votes (fairly), we call on people to a peaceful protest action that will not lead to chaos or bloody revolutions. But when there is no democracy at polling stations, it means democracy must be ensured on streets”.



To be on the safe side, he promised the police to raise their pay to the European level and to rid them of political search duties.

Talking about the allies, Milinkevich counts on support from the Belarusian Pro-Independence Bloc. He also confirmed he would pull out for the sake of the 'single' candidate whose strategy is better for the country than his.


Photo and video by Zmitser Lukashuk