MINSK, June 4. /TASS/. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko believes that no new protest movement appeared in Belarus ahead of the presidential elections.
"There is no new protest movement; there are just some displeased ones. They will always be there. But what is a new protest movement? It takes years. It’s not there," the president said during his meeting with the newly appointed Cabinet, according to the BelTA news agency.
According to Lukashenko, the people that stay in lines to put their signatures to nominate his rivals for presidency albeit being displeased with the government do not want to associate themselves with the radical opposition. "They do not want to attach themselves to the radical opposition who are always fighting us on the plazas," Lukashenko said.
He believes that the long lines to his rivals’ pickets are just a "Belarusian carousel."
"The lesser [carousel] is about [people] putting their signature, and then going back to the end of the line and then signing again," Lukashenko said.
The bigger carousel is about people coming to the pickets and leaving their signatures numerous times. "They understand that when the [electoral] commission will look at these signatures, it will notice this immediately. They said it from the start: we do not seek to take part in the elections, our main goal is to rock the country and pave the way for someone. You know who," Lukashenko said.
Presidential elections in Belarus will take place on August 9. On May 21, collection of signatures in support of candidates began that will end on June 19. The longest lines were in favor of Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, former head of the Belarusian High-Tech Park; former presidential aide Valery Tsepkalo; and former board chairman of Belgazprombank Viktor Babariko.