Former MP Valery Shchukin calls on ex-candidates for House of Representatives to form "people`s parliament" :: Charter'97 :: News

Valery Shchukin, a former member of the 13th Supreme Soviet (Belarus` parliament disbanded by Aleksandr Lukashenko in 1996) has called on the pro-democracy persons who sought to be or were candidates in last month`s elections for the Belarusian National Assembly`s House of Representatives to form what he calls a people`s parliament.

The people`s parliament should consist of those who were denied registration as candidates, removed from the race or were on the ballot but failed to gain a seat in the House, Mr. Shchukin said in an interview with BelaPAN.

He suggested that the people`s parliament should have 110 members, i.e. the same membership as the House of Representatives.

According to him, his proposal has been met with approval from among many ex-candidates, but not all of them are ready to become members of the people`s parliament. “I explain to them that they face criminal prosecution for appropriating other people’s powers,” Mr. Shchukin said.

He noted that the people`s parliament would be an alternative to the officially formed legislature. “It would unite people who had the chance of winning a parliamentary seat but had their victory stolen,” he said. “These people enjoy voters’ confidence, and their opinions carry weight.” The alternative parliament, he said, would draft bills alternative to the “most reactionary bills” originating with the House of Representatives.

Former opposition parliamentary candidates are expected to hold a meeting in Minsk on November 28. Mr. Shchukin noted that the meeting might result in announcing the establishment of the people`s parliament.