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Left-wing opposition parties set to hold congress in October

Left-wing opposition parties announced during a conference in Homyel on Tuesday that they were planning to hold a congress in October.

Participating in the conference were the leaders and local activists of the Spravedlivy Mir (Just World) Belarusian Party of the Left, the Hramada Belarusian Social Democratic Party, the Belarusian Party of Working People and the Nadzeya Belarusian Women’s Party.

If opposition organizations decide to hold a congress of pro-democratic forces, the left-wing coalition would participate in it and support the potential presidential candidate who embraced its election platform, Alyaksandr Bukhvostaw, chairman of the Belarusian Party of Working People, told reporters.

Syarhey Kalyakin, chairman of the Spravedlivy Mir party, stressed that left-wing parties would like opposition forces to have a single presidential candidate and had no immediate intention of putting forward their own contender.

Mr. Kalyakin expressed confidence that there would be fewer presidential candidates in 2015 than in 2010. No more than two opposition contenders will be able to collect the required 100,000 valid voter signatures, he said. Unlike five years ago, the central election commission will not grant access to the ballot to anyone who fails to meet the requirement, he predicted.

According to Uladzimir Syakerka, chairman of the Homyel regional organization of the Spravedlivy Mir party, the Belarusian Party of the Greens has already expressed a wish to take part in the congress of left-wing parties. // BelaPAN