Aleksandr Milinkevich proposed for opposition forces` single presidential candidate at regional conference in Mogilyov :: Charter'97 :: News

Aleksandr Milinkevich, one of the leaders of Belarus` third sector who has no party affiliation, was proposed for opposition forces` single presidential candidate as a result of a regional conference of the Mogilyov region`s opposition groups, which was held in Mogilyov on April 23.

Mr. Milinkevich received 64 out of 109 votes at the conference, according to the press office of the Belarusian Popular Front (BPF), which supports his nomination.

Other contenders gained less than half of the votes at the conference. In particular, Sergei Kalyakin, leader of the Belarusian Party of Communists, received 53 votes; Anatoly Lebedko, leader of the United Civic Party, 49; Stanislav Shushkevich of the Belarusian Social Democratic Hramada, 35; and Nikolai Busnyuk, a member of the United Civic Party, eight. Valery Artishevsky and Valery Gritsuk got still less votes.

The gathering recommended holding a national congress of pro-democratic forces to select a single candidate before July 27, the anniversary of the adoption of the declaration of Belarus` state sovereignty.

The Mogilyov conference was the "largest and most serious one in terms of the number and composition of participants," the BPF press office noted. Most of the region`s districts were represented and the hall was decorated by flags of political parties and the European Union, the press office said.

Regional nomination conferences were held earlier this month in three other regions and the city of Minsk. Mr. Milinkevich was also nominated in the Gomel region, Mr. Lebedko in the Brest region, Dr. Shushkevich in the Minsk region, and Mr. Kalyakin in the city of Minsk.

Similar conferences are yet to be held in the Grodno and Vitebsk regions.