BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

18/12/2005

Foes get little time to run for presidency

MINSK, BELARUS -- Belarus' parliament set March 19 as the date for the presidential election, giving the opposition just a week to register a candidate to challenge authoritarian incumbent Alexander Lukashenko.

Election officials had said the vote would be held in July. Opposition candidate Alexander Milinkevich said moving up the date showed Lukashenko feared his rival's rising popularity.

"Lukashenko is afraid," Milinkevich told The Associated Press. "It is evident that the security services have informed him about real attitudes in society, that my support as a presidential candidate is drastically increasing."

The new election date means presidential candidates have one week to submit a list of 100 supporters for their nomination.

Lukashenko was first elected in 1994.

Source:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0512180162dec18,1,7955082.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed

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