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Political analyst Andrey Yahoraw elected Belarus' national coordinator in Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum

Andrey Yahoraw, a political analyst who heads the Center for European Transformation, has been elected Belarus' national coordinator in the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum, BelaPAN said.

The Forum began a two-day meeting in Chisinau, Moldova, on Friday morning.

Mr. Yahoraw was elected in an uncontested vote. Alyaksandr Valchanin, chairman of the Ukrainian-registered Chernobyl Union of Belarus, was proposed for the position, but he refused to run.

Mr. Yahoraw succeeded Yaraslaw Bekish, leader of an environmental group called Zyalyonaya Setka (Green Network).

Mr. Yahoraw said that his priority as Belarus' national coordinator in the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum and a member of its Steering Committee would be to maintain ties between Belarus' civil society and the Forum.

Mr. Yahoraw said that the European Union's Eastern Partnership program had entered a new development stage. "The EU is deciding whether to engage with our countries or stay from those who are lagging behind, namely, Azerbaijan and Belarus," he said. "The bloc's decision will depend directly on the Forum."

Attending the meeting in Chisinau are more than 250 representatives of civil society groups in the six countries involved in the Eastern Partnership program (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine) and also representatives of governments, European institutions and donor agencies.

The Belarusian delegation includes representatives of International Consortium EuroBelarus, the Liberal Club, the Belarusian Association of Journalists, the Movement for Freedom, the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions, and other organizations.

The meeting focuses on the role of civil society in signing association agreements between the EU and several Eastern Partnership participating countries. The Forum is also expected to discuss reform in those countries ahead of an Eastern Partnership summit to be held in Vilnius in November 2013.