Belarus parliament elections

MINSK, 11 September (BelTA) – The 2016 parliamentary elections have been the most liberal parliamentary campaign over the past 20 years, Chairperson of the Belarusian Central Election Commission Lidia Yermoshina said in an interview with the Belarus 1 TV channel, BelTA has learned.

“These have been the most liberal elections over the past 20 years. I am talking about parliamentary campaigns. All candidates enjoyed the broadest opportunities for self-expression,” Lidia Yermoshina said.

She noted that the elections were “boring” only for those who did not want to notice anything. “One can lay on a couch and expect someone to make the process entertaining for him. If someone is not interested, of course he will feel bored,” she stressed.

Meanwhile, many candidates did not use the opportunity to address TV audiences to present their election programs. Lidia Yermoshina called this a demonstration of cowardice. She noted that if any of those who refused to use this opportunity get a seat in the Parliament, they will have to get used to cameras and microphones and learn to express and support their opinion publicly.