Pavel Seviarynets: Nomination of Mikalai Statkevich as candidate is only variant

It is unacceptable to legitimate the Luakshenka regime amid talks over Ukraine.

Former political prisoner Pavel Seviarynets, a co-head of the organising committee to create the Belarusian Christian Democracy party (BCD), said it to charter97.org.

“I repeated at consultations with democratic leaders that the nomination of Mikalai Statkevich as the common candidate in the 2015 elections would be the only variant in current conditions,” the politician says. “This step will show that we don't have honest elections but have political prisoners. Mikalai Statkevich's running in the elections is undoubtedly a strong moral step and duty of all democrats.”

The BCD leader says it would be wrong to participate in the pseudo elections.

“We don't have elections,” Pavel Seviarynets says. “This is a show staged by Yarmoshyna. It plays into the hands of the regime if democratic candidates run in pseudo elections. Alongside with the struggle for the registration of Statkevich as a candidate, we need to carry out a campaign to strengthen the country's independence. Observers should focus on voter turnout and violations. We mustn't allow the legitimisation of the Lukashenka regime amid talks over Ukraine that are held in Minsk.”

Photo: charter97.org