Opposition groups on April 29 held regional conferences in Minsk Oblast and Homel Oblast to select candidates for the Second Congrees of Pro-democratic Forces, which was preliminarily scheduled in Minsk for May 26-27, RFE/RL's Belarus Service reported. Participants in the regional conferences took part in a secret ballot to determine the status of chairperson and co-chairpersons of the Political Council of the United Democratic Forces, the formation of the Political Council and its board, and the functions and powers of the board. The key question for the nationwide congress of the opposition in May will be whether Alyaksandr Milinkevich, who was elected as the opposition's presidential candidate for the March 2006 election at a similar opposition congress in October 2005, will remain the leader of the united opposition or have to share his leadership with other opposition party leaders under a "rotational principle" proposed earlier this year (see "RFE/RL Belarus, Ukraine, and Moldova Report," February 22, 2007).  // Copyright (c) 2005. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. RFE/RL


Publication date: 01 May 2007   

Source:

Archive