Initiative Group of Aliaksandr Milinkevich Is of Opinion that Hrodna Region Was Purposefully Chosen for Discrediting of the Only Democratic Pretender to Presidency and His Command

-- It is a planned provocation, -- commented Aliaksandr Bukhvostau, chair of the initiative group of Aliaksandr Milinkevich, on the actions of the territorial commissions of Hrodna region, who found invalid many signatures in support of Milinkevich’s registration as a candidate to the presidential election.

According to the present information, in 10 districts of Hrodna region more than 15% of signatures were declared invalid. That’s why, according to the law, the signatures that were gathered for Milinkevich in those region, won’t be considered.

-- We couldn’t commit such mass violations. The initiative group checked the signatures lists before passing them to the election commissions. We have Xerox copies of all signature lists and are ready to check them up once again together with the territorial commissions. However, they refuse to do it, -- pointed Aliaksandr Bukhvostau.

He also said that Slonim District Election Commission refused to admit the member of the initiative group, deputy of Slonim District Deputy Soviet Ivan Sheha, to checking of the signatures. Accordng to Bukhvostau, it witnesses that in reality commissions couldn’t show anything to prove violations during collection of signatures.

-- Hrodna district was purposefully chosen as a foothold for discrediting of the team of the democratic candidate, because he was born in Hrodna region, he lives and works there and people know him well enough. It is not an occasion that in this region the largest number of signatures for Milinkevich in comparison to other regions was collected. Another interesting moment is that among the districts where signatures in his support were declared invalid there’s Shchuchyn district, where the leader of the united democratic forces lives now and where he ran for a parliamentary seat in 2004.

A. Bukhvostau thinks it is unlikely that the declaring of signatures in Hrodna region will result in non-registration of Aliaksandr Milinkevich as a candidate to the presidential election:

-- We have collected a large number of spare signatures, -- he said. - Most probably, the authorities can try to use the scenario, according to which the official number of the signatures in support of the leader of the united democratic forces will be smaller that the figures of the remaining three candidates with the aim to put him on the last place in the official result of the voting.