Presidential election 2015 in Belarus

MINSK, 23 July (BelTA) – It is good that representatives of the political parties are taking part in the president election, Lidia Yermoshina, the head of the Central Election Commission of Belarus, said in the interview with the First National Channel of the Belarusian Radio, BelTA has learned.

Lidia Yermoshina informed that the CEC has registered eight initiative groups. Consequently, there are currently eight potential candidates for the post of the president. "I was particularly pleased to see that 50% of those who registered the groups this election campaign head the political parties. Thank God that our politicians are returning to the roots, to the initial idea why political parties are established: to take part in elections. Earlier the parties would take part only in parliamentary or local elections. Now the leaders of the parties, and these are old, well-known parties, expressed their wish to participate in the elections and formed the initiative groups.

"Those who are participating in the elections say that they are serious about it and that they want to go all the way. I can only wish them good luck. I sincerely hope that this month of signature collection, which is highly responsible, will be conflict free,” she said. According to Lidia Yermoshina, sometimes local authorities and law-enforcement bodies are not always correct in performing the assigned duties while working with initiative groups. On the other hand, initiative groups themselves are not always law-abiding. “I hope that all the parties in the election campaign will stay in legal harmony with the law, voters and each other,” she said.

The CEC Chairperson also underlined one of the new features of the current election campaign. The list of the registered initiative groups includes groups that nominate women. “There have been no female candidates in Belarus for a long time. At least there were no women in the 2010 presidential race,” Lidia Yermoshina said.

In her words, it will not be easy for them to run. “Perhaps they will be asked tricky questions. They will also be assessed not only by their skills but also by their looks. I hope at least one of them will make it to the ballots,” Lidia Yermoshina added.