Parliamentary elections will be held on September 23

Elections to the House of Representatives will be held on September 23, 2012.

This was stated on June 18 by President Alexander Lukashenko during the meeting on the preparation and conduct of parliamentary elections

"In accordance with the taken decisions, the elections to the House of Representatives will be held on 23 September this year. Council of the Republic will be formed before the end of September", www.interfax.by quotes the president.

The choice of September 23 as the date of elections did not surprised the opposition. According to the deputy chairman of the United Civil Party Lev Margolin the preparatory work was conducted in the UCP on the assumption of this date.

"The work goes according to a plan. Now we need to appoint an extra congress, where the speakers will be nominated", the politician told UDF.BY web-site.

We remind, the party intends to nominate candidates-speakers who "will conduct the whole information campaign to explain that there are no elections", will call to boycott the elections, and then will withdraw their candidacies.

According to Margolin, the extraordinary congress will be convened at a meeting of the Party's Political Council to be held within 2-3 days. Thus, we can expect the congress, and hence the choice of candidates from the party not earlier than July 19.

"It is possible to call today, and I call on all responsible and honest democratic politicians to make a statement that we already today does not recognize these "elections" as free and democratic", Co-Chairman of the BCD Vital Rymasheuski told UDF.BY

According to him, "if every honest Belarusian politician make this statement, it will be a fertile ground for uniting all the democratic forces independent of Lukashenko".

When asked about the final BCD's position on the elections date Rymasheuski replied:

"BCD has set up a boycott, and we conduct the campaign of boycott. This is the only way out for all responsible democratic forces. There is simply no other choice".

"These "elections" to be held in conditions where political prisoners are in the country, when the electoral law remained the same. Therefore, we today can not recognize these "elections" because they will be neither free nor democratic".

Chairman of the Gomel regional organization of the Belarusian Leftists Party "A Just World" Vladimir Sekerko suggests, for the government it was beneficial to appoint elections on the last possible day. This will give the authorities time to adjust the economic situation in the country, and to ensure attendance, as the holiday season and college vacations is over.

According to Sekerko, the party has not taken yet the final decision on the format of participation in the upcoming campaign, but first of all should consider the nomination of candidates for election commission members, but not the candidates to the parliament.

"This is to be done before the end of the month at the plenum of Central Committee, which will determine the format of participation and nominate candidates to the electoral commissions", said the politician.

According to him, in the Gomel region "A Just World" plans to nominate their representatives to the commissions of all 17 districts.