Belarusian Presidential Candidate Believes Foreign Support Needed For Change Of Power

Sumaira FH Published August 06, 2020 | 12:20 PM

MINSK (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 06th August, 2020) Belarusian presidential candidate Sergey Cherechen told Sputnik in an interview that the result of the upcoming presidential election was preordained and the possible protests would change nothing, as international support was needed for the change of power in Belarus.

Cherechen expressed the belief that the result of the Belarusian presidential election, scheduled for August 9, was "in fact" predestined, and "taking into consideration the developments that we see", the possible rallies would not bring any change.

"With authoritarian regimes, domestic forces are not enough to secure victory ... Foreign support is needed, apart from strong teams inside the country," Cherechen said.

"But we will still fight till the end in this campaign, to show people that there is an alternative, that there are teams that will fight for reforms and changes in the country. This is important for me and for my team. Yes, we have lost this battle but this does not mean we have lost the whole war," Cherechen added.

The presidential candidate announced that his team � the Belarusian Social Democratic Party Gramada that he co-chairs � would create a business association to promote economic reforms.

"If we do not focus on the economy, our budget will be a failure, we will remain significantly dependent on Russia as we have been all these years. And we need to learn earning money and protecting our country, we are ready to continue our effort and take risks for this purpose," Cherechen explained.

The politician admitted he was already working on the 2025 presidential campaign.

"Yes, I do not refute this. We will actively participate in the life of our country within the next five years. Our party will organize campaigns at local and parliamentary elections. In 2025, a new presidential election will be held, and we will participate in it, already with some significant background and, hopefully, with support from the international community," Cherechen said.