We are sick and tired!

Frankly speaking, it is absolutely irrelevant who and whom and why had given a kick today. It is not interesting. We are sick and tired of all that.

We are fed up with taking a relaxed and understanding look at the mockery in which our opposition is evolving into! A press-conference had been called to announce a single strategy in the election, and as a result they had a squabble, and then they started to insult each other after the act.

I refuse to understand “For Freedom!” movement. First they state they are a public association, so they cannot be engaged in politics. And later they come to sign a political statement concering the election.

I refuse to understand Vital Rymasheuski, who had been forgotten and the approval of something had not been negotiated with him. Maybe he should have taken off his crown in such a case and read and appraise the document right before the press-conference? It is not a text in many volumes. If you agree, you can sign it, and if not, you can explain that distinctly if something does not suit you. Why do you come to such meetings when you cannot adopt any decision independently?

I do not understand Anatol Lyabedzka with his optimism which is becoming caricaturable. “Everything is fine,” Anatol Lyabedzka is saying unchangingly. “Everyone understands everything, everyone assesses everything appropriately, never mind, it is never too late…” But this “good” makes me sick.

And Syarhei Kalyakin, who is insisting on the idea of participation in the election like a battering-ram startles me. Have I missed something? Has the former Communist party received new charismatic leaders after it changed its name? Will voters turn over ballot boxes in their support? Please explain me where, for what goal and with whom Kalyakin is straining at the leash?

Speaking about the election, personally I believe that people must not participate in it until participants of the last election campaign, who were charged even with creation of election headquarters, are not released and rehabilitated. They were spied on, they were wiretapped, meetings with voters and TV speeches – the usual pre-election work of their teams were regarded as preparation for mass riots. Does someone want a repetition?

We should not take part in the election as long as Lidziya Yarmoshyna remains the chairperson of the Central Election Committee. The person who publicly stated that she is not impartial and plays on the side of the regime cannot be the head of the CEC. The person who had been many times condemned by the head of the state for election rigging, cannot be the head of the CEC. The person who had insulted a considerable part of voters does not have a right to conduct elections. To my mind, it is a symbolic issue, an issue of principle.

And finally, until amendments to the Electoral Code, which would guarantee presence of oppositional candidates’ representatives in the commissions, are not made, it is impossible to establish control over just vote count.

But for some reason politicians have not supported the initiative of Dzmitry Uss to amend the Electoral Code. Why? They are running to the election again as backup dancers, though they say that they can withdraw their candidatures immediately before the election. And we all know they would not. They had never done so. And we all know that to take part in such an election is to use people as fall guys again – at least those, who are not backup dancers and who are going to work conscientiously.

This is my position. These are my thoughts. But at the same time I am ready to agree for any plan, either participation in the election or boycott, if it will be a common message of the opposition to voters. Any common plan is better than many different and clever plans. If the opposition is chronically unable to find understanding, we should not vote for it. And stop fooling people saying it is a deserving alternative to what we have now. It is not an alternative – it is the same thing, there will be squabbling again because of outsized egos. We are fed up with this parade of ambitions, both in the government and in opposition.

We are sick and tired! No more of that!

Svyatlana Kalinkina, “Narodnaya Volya”