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«Tell the Truth!» movement pulls out of single candidate talks

The "Tell the Truth!" movement has announced its decision to withdraw for the time being from all talks about the nomination of a single presidential contender to represent opposition forces in the 2015 election.

"We're invited to discuss the nomination of a single candidate, but, in my view, this issue is impossible to resolve today," the movement's chairman, Uladzimir Nyaklyayew, who ran in the previous, 2010 presidential election, told reporters in Minsk on Wednesday.

Opposition forces should first agree on a common strategy, Mr. Nyaklyayew noted.

Debates about a single candidate split opposition forces and show that they are not ready to cooperate, said Andrey Dzmitryyew, deputy chairman of the "Tell the Truth!" movement. The movement is ready to debate the future of Belarus but not petty issues that matter only to the opposition camp, he said.

Mr. Nyaklyayew noted that his organization had not yet made a decision to participate in the next presidential race. "The authorities will fight to the last ditch in the 2015 election," he explained. "That is why we'll need to think hard whether to run in the election or stay out of it. Like in wartime, the civilian population cannot fight the army."

It is very possible that the opposition forces will have to boycott the presidential election, Mr. Nyaklyayew said. "However, a single leader should make a decision about this," he said. "It's time pro-democratic forces united. Let's stop infighting because it will lead nowhere."

Mr. Nyaklyayew stressed that he had no intention to "conquer the political summits" at any price. The "Tell the Truth!" movement wants to work together with all opposition forces to bring about change, he stressed.

In January, Alyaksey Yanukevich, chairman of the Belarusian Popular Front (BPF), announced that the BPF, the Movement for Freedom and the "Tell the Truth!" movement were discussing ways of nominating a single presidential contender and hoping to reach agreement within the following few months.

In an interview given to BelaPAN in December 2012, Mr. Nyaklyayew said that opposition forces could not develop a cooperation strategy without a single presidential candidate.
The United Civic Party and several other organizations are discussing the possibility of nominating a single presidential contender through a series of primaries.