Presidential election 2015 in Belarus

MINSK, 24 August (BelTA) – The registration of candidates for the post of the President of Belarus on 10 September (the latest possible date – 15 September) will allow increasing the campaigning period up to a month, Chairperson of the Central Election Commission (CEC) Lidia Yermoshina said in an interview with the ONT TV channel, BelTA informs.

Lidia Yermoshina explained: “We have not many candidates. We can already say that there will be not more than five of them. I believe we will be ready by 10 September. In that case the candidates will have a longer campaigning period. At least it will last a month, not 25 days.”

In her words, the period of the voter signature collection was calm and not very active. “Although the picketing worked well, especially in Minsk. At first voters were showing a keen interest in pickets,” said Lidia Yermoshina.

She added that the candidates that present an alternative opinion to the official one were less active than those five years ago. When asked about the reason, Lidia Yermoshina said: “I think it is because of the lack of financial resources.”

The CEC head believes that the signature collection is the most interesting stage in the election campaign. In her words, when the campaigning period kicks off, the registered candidates will have stricter self-censorship.