The "Spravedlivy Mir" (Just World) Belarusian Party of the Left has no intention of withdrawing from the ongoing local elections campaign, the party's chairman, Syarhey Kalyakin, told BelaPAN.
The Spravedlivy Mir party was among the 13 opposition political parties and NGOs that condemned the campaign as undemocratic in a statement adopted on April 2.
"The elections are unfair, but participation in them is necessary to promote democratic values and the party's ideology," Mr. Kalyakin said.
In addition, the party should use the campaign to increase public awareness of its existence, Mr. Kalyakin said. Since the party's renaming in late January, its recognizability has decreased from 65 percent to 25 percent, he explained.
The Movement for Freedom and the Belarusian Christian Democracy have also announced their intention to stay in the race and so has the Belarusian Popular Front, which has called on its representatives to continue campaigning to explain the party's views on the most important political economic and social issues.
On March 21, the United Civic Party decided to withdraw from the local elections campaign as an organization. Last week the Movement for the Free Development of Enterprise also pulled out of the race. The Narodnaya Hramada Belarusian Social Democratic Party it at the discretion of its contenders in the elections to decide whether to quit.
