Sviatlana Lapitskaya withdraws her candidacy

01.08.2008. Tags: boycott, elections-2008.
Source: Charter`97.

Member of the Belarusian Popular Front party Sviatlana Lapitskaya withdrew her candidacy in the office of the Zhodzina district electoral commission and refused to register an initiative group. Lapitskaya called on everyone to express distrust to the Central Electoral Commission, the current regime and not to participate in the voting.

‘My action was dictated by the fact that nothing, except for political statements of the authorities, was made for democratization of the election process. The reliable mechanisms of rigging the votes will be used again, controlled by the same persons who worked in previous ‘election performances’, the BPF activist said.

‘I call to oppress the current cynicism and impudence of the authorities who are going to deceive and disunite the Belarusian society. I call to oppress the fraud and treachery, which are coming to Belarus together with oligarch division of property on a new stage, titled ‘Belarusian grabfest’... How one can be a host in the country, a real citizen in the state?

We need a boycott of not election, but an election farce, as a key argument for changes of official explanation of articles of the Election Code of the Republic of Belarus, for adopting a clear democratic procedure of formatting independent election commissions, for holding of all stages of election process under close watch of the public. Belarus extremely needs real freedom of media, freedom of speech, assembly and association, freedom of choice, necessary for public activity and feed-back with electorate, real PUBLIC CONTROL of the officials, growth of rights culture and responsibility, confidence in power of law,’ the activist thinks.

It is impossible to win freedom, honor, trust of own children, the future, really strong and united Belarus by the rules of cynicism, lies and treachery... we need real election! Boycott to lies and treachery!’ calls Sviatlana Lapitskaya.