Tell the Truth campaign runs in farce to the end

Candidates from Tell the Truth campaign say they will run in the “election” to the end.

The announcement was made during the talks of parliamentary candidates held on September 17 via Skype.

Both registered candidates and people denied registration took part in the talks. A decision to continue the election campaign was taken by voting (19 votes in favour and 4 against). Leaders of Tell the Truth campaign did not vote, BelaPAN news agency reports.

Ihar Maslouski, a parliamentary candidate in Brest-Centre constituency No. 2, said: “We need to reach the final if we got involved in the matter. People say in the other case they will have no alternative in the election.”

Alyaksandr Mikulin, a candidate  in the Vitebsk-Chkalausk constituency  No 18, voted in favour of his further running in the race. “Voters took our proposals positively and agreed to represent them in the parliament. The signature collecting process showed people believe neither government nor opposition in the current form, but they believe us. We should continue the electoral race, moreover if your opponents are pro-governmental candidates,” he said.

Dzmitry Bandarchuk, a candidate in the Hrodna-Zanemnaski constituency No. 49, said there were no election in the country and vote counting had no sense. “But we need to record violations. The organizations, which pursued other aims (not a victory), have partially reached what they want. It doesn't matter whether they withdraw or not. Fieldwork was the main thing for us. We tried to  increase recognition of new leaders, spread ideas of Tell the Truth campaign and so on. I think we need to follow the work plan till the end, because a considerable part of voters will learn information about candidates only on the voting day,” Bandarchuk supposes.

Syarhei Parsyukevich, who was denied registration as a parliamentary candidate in Vitesbk-Kastrychnitski constituency No. 20, thinks there's no sense in further running in the farce. “Our withdrawal will demonstrate our principled position. Dear registered candidates, don't deceive yourselves and people. I think it's time to withdraw,” he said.

Tell the Truth deputy head Andrei Dzmitryeu emphasized the importance of the decision to be taken:

“It should be based only on the principles of the Civil Contract. Our candidates represent the interests of citizens, interests of a new majority.”

Dzmitryeu thinks struggling inside the opposition circle will not give results. “I am sure that the only way to see changes in Belarus is to make politics interesting and useful for Belarusians. In this case we will be able to count on public confidence on a minute when the future of Belarus will depend on it. We told them the truth about the 'election' without illusions. We said we would remain in constituencies to continue our work,” he said.

The BPF Party and the Civil United Party decided on September 15 to withdraw their candidates from the “election.