Milinkevich won’t run in presidential elections

The leader of the For Freedom movement announced his decision at a press conference in Minsk today.

According to him, there are two reasons for his refusal to run in the elections. One of them is statement of head of the Central Election Commission Lidziya Yarmoshyna who said on September 14, 2010, that the electoral legislation wouldn’t be amended in the course of the campaign. It was the main condition for Milinkevich’s running in the elections. “I don’t want to be a bit player in a movie where the director and playwright are the same person,” Milinkevich said. The other reason is that the lack of unity in the opposition, “Nasha Niva” newspaper reports.

Milinkevich continues his political and public activity. He is going to support three candidates in this campaign, Ales Mikhalevich, Ryhor Kostuseu, and Yury Hlushakou. The leader of the For Freedom movement plans to take part in pickets, meetings with the electorate and signature gathering.

At the same time, he is sure Lukashenka will “win” the elections. “But it will be illegitimate power,” Milinkevich said.

Despite the statement, he noted that the elections of 2006 and 2010 were totally different, Interfax-Zapad informs. “The authorities had stronger positions in 2006, the country didn’t have conflicts with Russia. Now Lukashenka is weak as never before. Our economy is on the verge of collapse, the information war with Russia is going on,” Milinkevich said.