Anatol Liabedzka: Action Of September 12 Remains Highly Important

The protest action of September 12 is one of the scenarios of struggling with falsification of the “parliamentary elections” results.

Leader of the United Civil Party Anatol Liabedzka has told this in an interview to charter97.org.

– Mikalai Kazlou hasn’t been registered as a candidate for “deputy” due to the “mistake” in the declaration. What is the situation with the other UCP candidates?

– The registration procedure ends tomorrow. By now, we can speak about just one loss, but a very significant one. Mikalai Kazlou is one of the leaders of our list. He is a man of huge potential. It is obvious that the Lieutenant-Colonel is an issue for the authorities regardless of the figures they were willing to indicate in the final protocols.

This is a part of the authorities’ electoral tactics. They will give a bigger percentage of registration of the opposition people, trying to withdraw those who make them trouble and headache, at the maximum, pointwise.

– CEC Chairperson Lidziya Yarmoshyna has recently stated there was some “development of the party system” in Belarus. Have you noticed this “development”?

– So far, we can observe the development of the system of falsifications and manipulations. Each new electoral campaign gives some innovations. In this component, yes, the space seems to be growing, but the party system remains in the same amoeba state as it used to be.

In order to develop the party system, we need free and fair elections complying with the OSCE standards in the first place. We have lacked this since long ago. Secondly, the people like Yarmoshyna should be kept as far as possible away from the counting votes procedure.

– In connection with that, do you plan to participate in the action of protest against falsification of the “parliamentary elections” results on September 12?

– As for protest actions, the decision should be taken directly by those who participate in the electoral campaign, those who have already collected evidence, that this campaign doesn’t meet the OSCE standards. Today, there appear the people for whom voters sign, who are liked by not only the party members, but by ordinary citizens, this is why this action is important.

I stand for the democratic candidates to sign a common statement already at this stage, giving their assessment to the electoral campaign. It looks obvious to me that the campaign does not comply with the OSCE standards and is unfair. This should be recorded as a position.

At present moment, we are considering the peaceful protest as one of the scenarios which we keep in our right-centrist portfolio.

– Today, there appeared information that your driver’s license may be seized. Why do the authorities need this?

– It would be better to ask this question to those who are trying to do it. I got a call-paper to the court, where this issue will be considered. Most likely, they will try to connect this measure with my fines. This is odd, but oddity remains a feature of the Belarusian reality.

– Have you violated traffic movement regulations?

– I have committed no violations of the traffic movement regulations. I assess this exclusively as an attempt of political pressure on me personally. They probably want to knock me out of the working routine, as I have been actively travelling around the regions lately. Someone wants me to make a change for a bicycle, but I am fit enough to do this as well.