English

Anatol Lyabedzka reelected leader of Untied Civic Party

 

Anatol Lyabedzka was reelected chairperson of the United Civic Party (UCP) in a secret ballot at the party’s convention held in Minsk on Saturday.

The 50-year-old Lyabedzka was the only candidate on the ballot after Aleh Korban, leader of the UCP’s youth wing, and Henadz Ananyew, chairperson of the UCP’s Vitsyebsk regional organization, withdrew their candidacies.

Out of 132 delegates present at the meeting, 101 voted to reelect Mr. Lyabedzka and 23 voted against his reelection, with two ballots being rejected.

At the suggestion of Mr. Lyabedzka, participants elected Lew Marholin, Lyudmila Petsina and Antanina Kavalyova to be deputy chairpersons of the UCP.

Anatol Lybedzka was born in the village of Tryles near Stowbtsy, Minsk region, on June 27, 1961. He graduated from the history and French language department of the Minsk Teachers’ Training Institute in 1985 and from the law department of Belarusian State University in 1996.

Mr. Lyabedzka was a member of the Belarusian parliament. He was elected chairperson of the UCP in April 2000 and overwhelmingly reelected in March 2010.

Mr. Lyabedzka said following his reelection on Saturday that there was a strong distinction between his long tenure as leader of the party and the 16-year-plus presidential tenure of Alyaksandr Lukashenka because he was elected by people and Mr. Lukashenka was appointed by himself.

“I’m in good condition. I’m not tired. I’m a political optimist,” Mr. Lyabedzka said. “The cause we serve is noble. I cannot be tired of it.”

“When the time comes, I would like to hand over the party to someone whose hands are not sweaty and don’t tremble,” he said earlier in the day. // BelaPAN