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Presidential contender Ales Mikhalevich collects ballot-access signatures on Vitsyebsk street

Presidential hopeful Ales Mikhalevich visited Vitsyebsk on October 23 to take part in a signature-collection event near a popular shopping center.

In an interview with BelaPAN, Mr. Mikhalevich said that his team had collected about 92,000 ballot-access signatures, including some 10,000 signatures in the Vitsyebsk region. “This is an above-average figure. I expect roughly 15,000 signatures to be gathered in this region. People have been putting their signatures in my support most actively in the Mahilyow region where all records have been broken. I believe that my ballot-access petitions have been signed by twice as many people as have signed Lukashenka’s there,” he stressed.

Mr. Mikhalevich, 35, said that his young age was “rather an advantage than a disadvantage.” “I have a positive biography of a young, active lawyer. People like this,” he noted.

The former deputy chairman of the Belarusian Popular Front acknowledged that he should have devoted more efforts to the collection of ballot-access signatures on the street. “On the first few days of the signature collection campaign people in Minsk were queuing to put signatures in support of pro-democratic contenders, which is a far cry from what was in the previous election,” he said, adding that his camp could have collected much more signatures on the street.