Council of opposition forces approves plan to select single presidential candidate :: Charter'97 :: News

The permanent council of pro-democracy forces, at its Wednesday’s meeting, approved a procedure for selecting a single opposition candidate in the 2006 presidential election.

The council includes representatives of the United Civic Party, the Belarusian Popular Front, the Belarusian Social Democratic Party “Narodnaya Hramada,” the Belarusian Social Democratic Hramada, the Belarusian Party of Communists (BPC), the Belarusian Environmental Party of the Greens and four non-governmental organizations.

As Valery Ukhnalyov, secretary of the BPC Central Committee, told BelaPAN, the gathering agreed on all aspects of the procedure.

Under the plan, contenders will be put forward by parties and NGOs at the first phase, with nominees being subsequently winnowed down as a result of polls and experts` surveys. At the final stage, opposition forces will hold joint conferences in each of the country`s six regions and the city of Minsk to shortlist nominees for a final conference at which one candidate will be selected.

The opposition plans to make the regional conferences “open to the public to the highest possible degree,” inviting all voters to attend, according to Mr. Ukhnalyov.

The final conference is expected to be attended by 500 delegates from parties, NGOs and trade unions, as well as 230-250 activists elected at local forums of pro-democracy forces.
“We will do our utmost to ensure that this conference takes place in Belarus,” Mr. Ukhnalyov said.