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United Civic Party picks presidential candidate

The United Civic Party (UCP) has nominated Deputy Chairman Yaraslaw Ramanchuk for registration as candidate in Belarus’ forthcoming presidential election, BelaPAN reports.

The opposition party’s Political Council took the decision to this effect on May 31.

On April 17, the party announced that it would put forward its candidate in the presidential election.

It said that it was “ready to continue consultations with other political forces in any format, but in a situation where there is no positive result as far as it concerns the determination of a single presidential candidate representing advocates of changes the UCP is announcing the nomination of its own candidate for the presidential post.”

The party said that it was still ready to discuss the possibility of a single opposition candidate in the ballot.

Born in the small town of Sapotskin in the Hrodna region on January 10, 1966, Yaraslaw Ramanchuk graduated from Minsk State Linguistic University. He attempted to defend a doctoral candidate’s degree thesis on economic reforms in a transforming society but failed. Mr. Ramanchuk was a member of the Supreme Soviet in the 1990th. Between 1997 and 2002, he worked for the private weekly Belorusskaya Gazeta. Since February 2002, Mr. Ramanchuk has been heading the Minsk-based Mises think tank. In April 2000, he was elected deputy chairman of the UCP in charge of international contacts and the development of economic programs and laws.

Mr. Ramanchuk is an author of numerous economic articles, alternative bills and the UCP’s anti-crisis platform. He is also the holder of several international awards.

Since January 2009, Mr. Ramanchuk has been a member of the Council of Ministers’ working group on the promotion of the country’s image in the international arena.