Lukashenko risks allowing a competitor into the elections out of fear of the United States
For the first time in 26 years, Belarus will face truly competitive elections.
President Alexander Lukashenko publicly promised that his main competitor in the upcoming presidential elections, ex-banker Viktor Babariko, will be registered as a candidate by the Belarusian Central Election Commission.
“I want him to get into the elections... And let the Belarusians decide later. But we will not make him a prisoner of conscience. I’m not an idiot,” Lukashenko said, speaking to the residents of Polotsk.
This is an important statement, considering that at the same time the head of the state control committee, Ivan Tertel, spoke about Babariko’s involvement in the “illegal activities” of Belgazprombank, which was searched the day before.
Lukashenko does not hide the fact that he himself ordered Tertel to speak to the media.
According to him, Babariko ran for president to hide traces of his crimes. The president once again insulted his competitor, calling him a “scoundrel.”
Lukashenko allows this “criminal” to participate in the campaign only so that he himself is not accused of dishonest political struggle.
“Because they will shout: he’s afraid of someone, he’s weak, he’s escalating the situation. I'm not afraid of anyone, I'm already afraid. They will decide who will be president: either the fat-bellied ones who stole, or someone else. And this situation is unfavorable for me, but the scoundrels had to be stopped, because they began to hide their ends in the water,” Lukashenko said.
To confirm that he is right, he intends to call Interpol, as well as “Russians, Americans and Europeans.”
“And let them draw conclusions about the compliance of the actions of law enforcement agencies with our laws. And they will be held accountable according to the law. If necessary, they will sit down. “Everyone is equal before the law,” the Belarusian leader promised.
At the same time, he regards the possible victory of a competitor in the elections as his “overthrow”: “I’m still the president. They haven't overthrown me yet."
Babariko is allowed to participate in elections only as a punching bag, a vile “fat-bellied” bandit who is opposed by a fair president.
“The people themselves will wear you down,” Lukashenko predicted the course of his campaign.
It is noteworthy that Babariko is happy with this scenario. He said that he was ready to be arrested and therefore was in a hurry to appeal to his supporters via YouTube.
“Despite all the events, it was said that they still want to see me as a presidential candidate. This means that there is great hope that our group and I will be registered, and we will talk with the whole country,” Babariko said.
Naturally, he denies all Lukashenko’s accusations. If the Belarusian president was going to intimidate his rival, he failed.
By allowing a truly strong opponent into the elections, Lukashenko apparently hopes to repeat the scenario of the 2006 elections, when the leader of the nationalist opposition, Alexander Milinkevich, and the pro-Russian scientist Alexander Kazulin were allowed to compete with him.
According to official estimates, the first scored 6%, the second 2%. Even Lukashenko’s opponents, while questioning the fairness of the calculations, did not challenge his victory. A small but very emotional Maidan gathered on the square in Minsk, as a result of which Kazulin was arrested and served 2 years. After this, the scientist left politics forever.
15 years later the situation has changed. At least in the ratio of the audience of the Internet and television, which in Belarus is a tool of rather lame state propaganda. Therefore, it will not be as easy to imprison Babariko, even on a political charge, as it was in his time for Kazulin.
Another difference is that relations between Lukashenko and the United States have changed dramatically. In 2006, the Belarusian leader was not afraid of the sanctions imposed due to the arrest of Kazulin; he was not even afraid to expel the American ambassador from Minsk in response to their extension in 2008.
Now, on the contrary, the US ambassador is returning, and Lukashenko’s relations with Russia are tense. Therefore, he will not imprison Babariko, so as not to run into accusations of violating the “principles of democracy.”
But the Belarusian leader was not afraid to change the leadership at Belgazprombank. Its owner is the Russian Gazprom, which Old Man considers Babariko’s sponsor. The fight against the Russian monopoly in the United States will certainly be approved, and its leading politician may even be supported.
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