Stanislau Shushkevich: Running in elections has no sense and only helps authorities

It is impossible to achieve changes in Belarus through running in “elections” on the conditions proposed by the dictator.

First head of independent Belarus Statnislau Shushkevich said it in an interview with Radio Svaboda.

– You ran in the first presentational elections in Belarus in 1994. Many say they were the first and the last democratic elections. Could the results have been different, in your view? Could you have won?

– Firstly, I agree that those elections were democratic and fair. The old nomenclature hadn't revived yet. But it was already based on kleptocracy and a desire to use power for their own aims, but it was not vivid in those times.

I don't think I could have won. The most deceitful of our rulers, Lukashenka, lied about me to the whole country, so people thought I was involved in corruption and embezzlement.

– How did those elections influence your life? How did they change it? Do you regret you ran in them?

– I couldn't but run in the elections. I thought I had to participate in them. I had ran and won elections of people's deputies of the USSR and BSSR before that. I thought I had a chance. But I understood that the democratic forces should have proposed one candidate – either Zianon Pazniak or me. I understood well that Pazniak's supporters would never give their votes to me. As for Zianon Pazniak, he never made a compromise, never made concessions. Strategically, it wasn't the best move of the democratic forces.

– Do you think the democratic and opposition forces should take part in this year's campaign?

– I am convinced that all see that running in the elections has no sense and only helps the authorities. The fate of the so called elections is already determined. This ugly person that heads the Central Election Commission won't do anything good. She will support the lie and fulfil the plan, as she always did before.

I don't know an opposition politician who doesn't understand it has no sense. We have the opposition now that is unable to do anything except for opposition activities. They prefer a direct approach – you have to run in elections if they are carried out, because what other tools of opposing the authorities do you have? I personally think that the American standard does not suit us in this case.

– If we look at the history of all presidential elections in Belarus, did democratic candidates ever have chances for a victory after the 1994 presidential elections?

– The chances were weak for one simple reason. Belarusians failed to unite around a single coordination centre. Even if they had united, it would have been difficult to win for one simple reason – the old nomenclature was united. They placed a stake on Kebich but later understood that Lukashenka was even better. He is uneducated, though cunning, and they can fool him by using Russia if needed. I think we didn't have chances after the old nomenclature had united. We don't have any chances today, too. Such a consolidation, such a desire to risk and perhaps lose your welfare requires many heroes. But we have only few of them.

– Do you think changes will come to Belarus through elections? Can something be changed in other ways?

– Nobody reached a democracy through elections in the conditions of dictatorship. But I think it is possible to hasten good times. But those who stand for a democratic Belarus should find courage not to claim leading roles, as all do today. I don't want to call names, but today one person quits one group, where he wasn't a leader, and creates another group to lead it. Even parties are not able to agree on their leaders. We should find courage to find a true leader. People should understand: someone works better than me, so let's put a stake on him.

– Does Belarus need strong presidential power? Maybe a parliamentary republic would be better.

– I think a parliamentary republic is fairer. If the parliament decides on something, they have different opinions, debates. MPs are elected. But if the election is carried out in the same fraudulent way as we see today, it won't be better.

This is a certain degree of risk. If the president is fair and decent, the situation can be improved faster than in a parliamentary republic. If the president is like what we have today, who doesn't care about anything but his power, it turns out that we lag behind all our neighbours.