About 100 activists of the United Democratic Forces (UDF) in the Homyel region plan to run in April's local elections.
Thirty-two people have announced their intention to seek membership in the Homyel Regional Soviet and just as many in the Homyel City Soviet, Vasil Palyakow, head of the regional organization of the United Civic Party, told BelaPAN.
The UDF is ready to nominate its representatives to all election commissions that will be counting the ballots for its candidates, Mr. Palyakow said.
"If the nominees are included in the commissions, the candidates will start campaigning,"Uladzimir Katsora, a member of the United Civic Party, told BelaPAN. "If not, they will pull out of the race and launch a drive to inform people that the elections are merely a hoax."
The UDF has decided to take an active part in monitoring the elections, he said.
The government does not care what the public thinks about it, Mr. Katsora said. It is more important for the authorities to create an appearance of democratic elections for Europe, he said. If no foreign observers come to Belarus, the West will make its conclusions based on reports by domestic monitors, he said. Accurate information about the elections can only come to them from opposition political parties and non-governmental organizations, he said.
The priority is to have monitors in not only Homyel but also other parts of the region, and the coalition is ready to deploy about 300 observers there, Mr. Katsora said. "If there are no elections as such, this should be proved," he explained.
