Maksim Viniarski: Belarusians gave up on “election”

Even administrative pressure won't help the authorities to make the necessary number of people vote.

Maksim Viniarski, a coordinator of European Belarus civil campaign, said it in an interview with charter97.org. Police raided his mother's home yesterday. The activist is threatened with a new administrative arrest for the offence he didn't commit.

– How do you assess this year's “election”, taking into account your experience of participating in political campaigns?

– I would take it seriously if it were real election. What we have today is not the election. This is an electoral farce aimed at imitating an electoral show.

I don't see any sense in taking part in the show. I think all who run in the elections are Aliaksandr Lukashenka's “backstage dancers” who help him imitate the electoral process.

– Is our society interested in this “process”? Do people understand that the “election” is not real?

– I haven't met anyone, except for a few political activists, who think about the “election”. I think society is not interested in the process at all. The authorities will try to use administrative methods to increase the voter turnout, but I am not sure whether they will manage to make at least 50% of voters vote.

These methods are well-practised, but I doubt they will be successful this time.

– Why do you doubt?

– This is not the first campaign I am observing. I took active part in all election campaigns except for one in 1994. I have watched all presidential elections since 2001 at a close distance.

People showed interest in politics ahead of all previous presidential elections. Even those who didn't believe that elections could change something were involved in the process. They felt interest: if there's an alternative to the authorities and how it looks like. I don't see now that people care about it.

I think Belarusians gave up on the “elections” and those who organise it. Let's compare this year's campaign and 2010. In 2010, all actions by both opposition and authorities were aimed at involving people into the electoral process, each on its side, of course.

I don't see it now. I saw how signatures were collected for so called candidate Lukashenka. They tried even less than in 2010, when his pickets didn't attract people. This year they didn't even pretend they worked hard.

– What can you say about observation of the “election”, internal and international?

– I think sincerely that there's no great need in international observation, because we don't have the process that could be observed. Real politicians were excluded from the electoral process at the very beginning. None requirements on amendments to the electoral code have been fulfilled. Opposition members were not included in election commissions.

Except for the release of political prisoners and suspension of preventive arrests, there are no other signs that we have the “election”. We don't see any changes. I don't think there's something to observe in this “election”.