MINSK, 17 November (BelTA) – Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko admitted that he cares about the way the elections will be perceived abroad, but not too much. Aleksandr Lukashenko made this statement as he answered reporters' questions after casting his ballot at the parliamentary elections on 17 November, BelTA has learned.
“I don't usually fret over it,” the Belarusian leader said.
He noted that the elections in Belarus are held first of all, for the Belarusian people and in line with the law. “What I do care about is that our elections are compliant with our laws and the Constitution. We conduct elections for our country, our people, to make life better here. We hold the elections the way we deem right,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
“If the society does not like the way the president holds the elections, they will outvote him in half a year. Don't even doubt it. I will not cling to power with blue fingers if you do not trust me anymore and if you show no trust in the government in general. We hold elections for ourselves. It is true, we are anxious about the way we will be perceived in the world,” the head of state said.
The president noted that no country pays much attention to the OSCE ODIHR recommendations, while Belarus treats them very seriously.
As far as amendments to the electoral legislation are concerned, this is done in steps. For example, there were proposals to introduce proportional representation for the parliamentary elections. “I strongly believe that the majoritarian system still works. Many have tried proportional representation to come back to the mixed electoral system and might later opt for the majoritarian system. If this matter is brought to public attention, they will support this point of view. We should leave it as it is. After all, it is democratic when all people can choose, and not on party lists,” the Belarusian leader said.
The president spoke against fake parties, including pro-government parties. He believes that parties should be formed on their own, without using money of various kinds of western foundations. “Let them establish political parties here. Let them earn public trust. This is our stance on that. I believe this is democratic. Party creation should be a genuine process,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
When asked how he will react if the West does not recognize the parliamentary elections again, the president said: “It is their right to do so. I will be very disappointed with their biased stance.”
“To be honest, [during the previous elections] I used to know beforehand what their findings would be. Now I do not know. They are closely following the elections to be able to substantiate their results. This is already progress that they have not come with a ready-made template alleging that the elections are bad and should not be recognized. The situation is different now. They have realized that Belarus is the center of Europe and there is no escaping this fact. It is important that it remains at peace and does not cause problems to anyone,” the Belarusian leader emphasized. “This is not about peacemaking. That was just a pretext to find a way out of that standoff. They needed to walk out of it and they had to find a pretext. Thank you, we are ready for cooperation,” the president added.
