On 10 July 1994, the independent Belarus held its first presidential election.
They expected that the second round would end in a tie. “Well-wishers" even offered the then Prime Minister Vyacheslav Kebich, the rival of Aleksandr Lukashenko in the election, to manipulate the vote count a bit, hoping that the split between the candidates would be small. But they did not expect such a deafening defeat...
Having learned the preliminary results of the vote on Sunday evening, the former prime minister got disappointed and went to Belovezhskaya Pushcha where he stayed in a house on the shore of the lake for a couple of days while the final vote count was underway.
Lukashenko's team, meanwhile, "received signals" on the ground in the regions, judging by the mood of voters, by the respectful attitude of members of local election commissions. MP Aleksandr Lukashenko voted with his sons at a polling station in Shklov.
Returning to Minsk on Monday, 11 July, Lukashenko was taking a stroll with a close friend near Gorky Park. On approaching the government residence in Bronevoi Pereulok, a friend joked: "We will win. We will move to the residence looking smart. A good life will start." Lukashenko cut him abruptly: "Stop joking. They may manipulate the vote count!"
As always, he understood the essence. After all, the CEC and local election commissions were formed by the previous government that, to put it mildly, did not like him. There were provocations, threats and even assassination attempts, and post-election protests.
MP Aleksandr Lukashenko was vaguely aware of the results of an opinion poll commissioned by a U.S. news agency and very professionally carried out by Candidate of Sociological Sciences Zhanna Grishchenko. After all, it is the customer's right to information.
But unlike many others, Lukashenko trusted the data and when he became president, he invited American sociologists to visit.
During the election campaign, for a whole month, they worked in a systemic mode, professionally. The rating was very dynamic. At first, Lukashenko trailed behind Kebich, with about 25%. By the middle of the election campaign, there was almost parity between them - 42% to 43%. But after an unsuccessful smear campaign about a stewardess named Zhanna, launched by Kebich's team, and shooting near Liozno on 17 June, Lukashenko took the lead with 83-85%, with a sampling error of 1%. The smear campaign had the opposite effect. Voters did not believe it and massively supported Lukashenko.
Kebich's team, having the latest data and not wanting to upset the boss, kept him in a bubble. Numbers or not, he had a poor grasp of what was happening, feeling safe on the throne.
Public relations and campaign strategies make up an entire science. The president rose to the challenge in a difficult situation and was dubbed Batka [Dad] even BEFORE the election! As you know, winners are not judged. They are simply envied and played dirty tricks on. Batka always hated fawning and servility.
The protocol on the outcomes of the presidential election runoff signed by all members of the Central Election Commission was published on 15 July 1994.
The day before, almost all members of the presidential campaign gathered at the Zaslavl government residence for their first meeting. This event was not sanctioned by the previous government. At this meeting one deputy said arrogantly: “Well, Sasha, never forget who made you president!” It immediately became clear to many that Lukashenko’s tenure would not be easy.
Batka showed that he was his own man even before the inauguration that marked the beginning of his presidential tenure. The first document bearing the title and signature of the president was not a decree; Decree No. 1 appeared later, on 22 July 1994, after the inauguration ceremony in the Supreme Council hall that resembled a terrarium teeming with opposition... On 16 July 1994, the president signed a cable for members of the government, chairs of the Councils of Deputies.
His signature on the cable and the form of presentation spoke volumes. His style of work caught attention immediately: “The irresponsible steps taken recently by the government sharply worsened the state of affairs in the domestic economy, disorganized public administration, and had an extremely negative impact on the state of executive, production and financial discipline. The heads of ministries and government agencies, executive committees of the Councils of Deputies of all levels have actually withdrawn from supervising the work of state-owned enterprises and organizations. In the current situation, we demand that you immediate take action to restore order and discipline in respective industries and regions.” It was necessary to clean up the mess left by the previous government.
These 30 years of the president's tenure marked by hard work and out-of-the-box solutions deserve a separate story.
Sergei MUSIYENKO
Archival materials were provided by the Presidential Library of the Republic of Belarus.
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