MINSK, 3 January (BelTA) – Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko held a meeting with his authorized representatives on 3 January, BelTA has learned.
“As you know, the registration of candidates for the president of Belarus has ended. First of all, I would like to thank all those who supported me. The 2.5 million signatures suggests a high level of trust, and we must do everything to meet expectations of our supporters,” emphasized Aleksandr Lukashenko. “I would ask you to thank people for endorsing me. While visiting labor collectives, please, do not forget to thank people for signing in support of the incumbent president,” the head of state said.
“You are the authorized representatives of the incumbent president in the truest sense of the word. I asked you to be my proxies because I know you personally. Moreover, you also know me to some extent. Many people volunteered to be my proxies. We have recently visited a regional children’s clinic and the chief physician said that he was aggrieved not to be included in the list of proxies this time although he was on the list last time. The thing is that we changed the approach to selecting authorized representatives a little bit. A person aspiring to be a proxy needs to know me personally and to be involved in the implementation of the president’s policy one way or another,” the president said.
“I appreciate that you agreed to accept this role. I promise you that if people vote for us, I will not let you down. For me, this is the heaviest burden. They say: Batka, Batka, we trust you and so on. This is the most terrifying thing for any president, especially for me (and I think for others too): expectations should be met,” the Belarusian leader said.
The head of state noted that the final stage of the electoral process - campaigning - had begun. “You will be at the forefront. Frankly speaking, I simply have no time for this,” he said.
The president explained that his schedule in January will be filled with traditional events. On Christmas, Aleksandr Lukashenko plans to visit a church. The ceremony of presenting the Spiritual Revival Award and special presidential awards will also take place one of these days. “None of these traditional events can be skipped,” Aleksandr Lukashenko emphasized. “There is also an invitation to visit China. We need to meet with China’s leadership to thrash out our cooperation plans. This is one of our strategic partners,” the president remarked.
Earlier, the head of state suggested that China construct a new building for the National History Museum in Minsk. “I need to see a Chinese museum over there, because they have started building their own museum of the Belarusian history. I need to see this great museum, there is something to see,” the president noted.
“On the other hand, all the authorized representatives were handpicked keeping in mind that they are all involved in implementing our policy. Therefore, if people criticize us, you will share the responsibility for these critiques with the president and other people. Yet, the main thing here is not campaigning (what is the point to campaign for the president, as people see him every day), the main thing is to get feedback. People need to know that you will communicate their problems to me,” the head of state noted.
At the stage of collecting signatures, people passed on their requests, wishes to members of the initiative group. According to the head of the campaign, Chairman of the Federation of Trade Unions Yuri Senko, there were about 500 of them.
“They have been analyzed. I do not see any unresolvable problems there. These are problems related to housing and utility services, landscaping (next year is the Year of Improvement, so we will have to deal with this seriously), transport, the state of roads. We will take it up a notch. But the complacency that we have now, especially among the president’s supporters, is wrong. We should not relax under any circumstances. Moreover, we run the country: how can we loosen up? If people trust us, we must keep working. We must carry on with the policy that we have started. I have meticulously analyzed all the issues that we have dealt with. I do not see any issues that can be de-prioritized. All the problems that we have dealt with so far will remain relevant in the future. Moreover, I keep saying: next year will not be easy,” the president said.
The head of state gave an instruction to make sure that the campaign strictly abides by the electoral legislation. “Moreover, what is the point for us to break the rules or expose ourselves to criticism?” he added.
“As you know, the registration of candidates for the president of Belarus has ended. First of all, I would like to thank all those who supported me. The 2.5 million signatures suggests a high level of trust, and we must do everything to meet expectations of our supporters,” emphasized Aleksandr Lukashenko. “I would ask you to thank people for endorsing me. While visiting labor collectives, please, do not forget to thank people for signing in support of the incumbent president,” the head of state said.
“You are the authorized representatives of the incumbent president in the truest sense of the word. I asked you to be my proxies because I know you personally. Moreover, you also know me to some extent. Many people volunteered to be my proxies. We have recently visited a regional children’s clinic and the chief physician said that he was aggrieved not to be included in the list of proxies this time although he was on the list last time. The thing is that we changed the approach to selecting authorized representatives a little bit. A person aspiring to be a proxy needs to know me personally and to be involved in the implementation of the president’s policy one way or another,” the president said.
“I appreciate that you agreed to accept this role. I promise you that if people vote for us, I will not let you down. For me, this is the heaviest burden. They say: Batka, Batka, we trust you and so on. This is the most terrifying thing for any president, especially for me (and I think for others too): expectations should be met,” the Belarusian leader said.
The head of state noted that the final stage of the electoral process - campaigning - had begun. “You will be at the forefront. Frankly speaking, I simply have no time for this,” he said.
The president explained that his schedule in January will be filled with traditional events. On Christmas, Aleksandr Lukashenko plans to visit a church. The ceremony of presenting the Spiritual Revival Award and special presidential awards will also take place one of these days. “None of these traditional events can be skipped,” Aleksandr Lukashenko emphasized. “There is also an invitation to visit China. We need to meet with China’s leadership to thrash out our cooperation plans. This is one of our strategic partners,” the president remarked.
Earlier, the head of state suggested that China construct a new building for the National History Museum in Minsk. “I need to see a Chinese museum over there, because they have started building their own museum of the Belarusian history. I need to see this great museum, there is something to see,” the president noted.
“On the other hand, all the authorized representatives were handpicked keeping in mind that they are all involved in implementing our policy. Therefore, if people criticize us, you will share the responsibility for these critiques with the president and other people. Yet, the main thing here is not campaigning (what is the point to campaign for the president, as people see him every day), the main thing is to get feedback. People need to know that you will communicate their problems to me,” the head of state noted.
At the stage of collecting signatures, people passed on their requests, wishes to members of the initiative group. According to the head of the campaign, Chairman of the Federation of Trade Unions Yuri Senko, there were about 500 of them.
“They have been analyzed. I do not see any unresolvable problems there. These are problems related to housing and utility services, landscaping (next year is the Year of Improvement, so we will have to deal with this seriously), transport, the state of roads. We will take it up a notch. But the complacency that we have now, especially among the president’s supporters, is wrong. We should not relax under any circumstances. Moreover, we run the country: how can we loosen up? If people trust us, we must keep working. We must carry on with the policy that we have started. I have meticulously analyzed all the issues that we have dealt with. I do not see any issues that can be de-prioritized. All the problems that we have dealt with so far will remain relevant in the future. Moreover, I keep saying: next year will not be easy,” the president said.
The head of state gave an instruction to make sure that the campaign strictly abides by the electoral legislation. “Moreover, what is the point for us to break the rules or expose ourselves to criticism?” he added.
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