Presidential election 2015 in Belarus

MINSK, 6 October (BelTA) – We have two new political personalities in Belarus thanks to the 2015 presidential election campaign, Chairperson of the Central Election Commission (CEC) of Belarus Lidia Yermoshina said in an interview with the Belarus 1 TV channel on 6 October, BelTA has learned.

“This is candidate Nikolai Ulakhovich who did not position himself as a politician before. He was known, probably, as an executive manager and only to a small circle of people,” Lidia Yermoshina noted and added that the Belarusian Patriotic Party led by Nikolai Ulakhovich have not been very active in recent years and did not participate in elections. “I mean they existed in an amorphous state, and then suddenly made a statement about themselves and their voice was quite strong,” Lidia Yermoshina noted. “When Nikolai Ulakhovich addresses the audience, he speaks decently and sincerely. He talks about things that are easy for people to understand,” the CEC Chairperson said.

Tatiana Korotkevich is another debutant of the election campaign. “Indeed, she is a person from the public with an absolutely non-governmental point of view,” Lidia Yermoshina said. When asked why the Belarusian opposition forces turned their backs on Tatiana Korotkevich, the CEC Chairperson said: “Maybe, she is right. If at present the opposition forces are not so popular, maybe it is better for her to totally distance herself and show that they do not support her. After all, we cannot disregard anything,” she stressed.

Lidia Yermoshina also believes that four presidential candidates are quite enough for the present election campaign. In general, the number is ideal for the main electoral event. She also noted that the terms for nominating candidates and pre-electoral campaigning have become much more relaxed.

Apart from Nikolai Ulakhovich and Tatiana Korotkevich, running for the post of the President of Belarus are Sergei Gaidukevich and Alexander Lukashenko.