Aleksandr Lukashenko makes new appointments 

On 23 January Prsident of the Republic of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko made a number of personnel decisions. The head of state appointed:

	Sergei Rachkov	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Belarus to the Sultanate of Oman and concurrently to the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria
	Alexander Ostrovsky	Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Belarus to the Kingdom of Denmark

The President also approved the appointment of:

	Andrei Klets	Deputy Chairman of the Brest Oblast Executive Committee
	Dmitry Gorodetsky	Head of the Administration of the Leninsky District of the city of Brest
	Sergei Tkachuk	Chairman of the Loyev District Executive Committee
	Elena Agei	Deputy Chairperson of the Grodno Oblast Executive Committee
	Oleg Targonsky	Chairman of the Slonim District Executive Committee
	Andrei Yanchevsky	Chairman of the Slutsk District Executive Committee
	Vladimir Kiselev	First Deputy Chairman of the Mogilev Oblast Executive Committee
	Alexander Osipov	Chairman of the Bobruisk District Executive Committee
	Piotr Baltrukovich	Deputy Chairman of the State Science and Technology Committee

Addressing heads of local executive bodies, Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed that they have enough professionalism and experience of work with people. “However, it should be borne in mind that the period we are going through is difficult. Much has been said about it, including by me. I do not want to exaggerate the problems and difficulties that exist in the economy, and the reasons for this situation. But I hope that this year we will live much better and will be able to reverse the negative trends in our economy. Everything depends on us,” the head of state said.

According to the President, major election campaigns are to take place in Belarus in the near term. The first one will be the elections to the local councils of deputies. “This is a test, we admit it; people will evaluate us. You know who will get the bulk of criticism, but you will also have to address a great number of issues. You are in the frontline; you stand face to face with people. It will be people who will evaluate your work. I strongly recommend you to keep this in mind,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

The President also spoke about possible emergence of a new force in the form of a leading political party. “I have already raised this question; maybe, it seemed rhetorical. I asked if our country needs a leading party to make the country’s social and political environment more complete. All countries, in particular, our neighbors, the former USSR republics have such parties. We do not. To be honest, I would not mind to have a political party that would facilitate our interaction with human resources. Everything is up to people. Here we have many issues. The system established through the power vertical has no alternatives. No competition. It is bad,” the Belarusian leader believes.

“When I asked if we need some sociopolitical force, everyone, including the Premier, the Head of the Presidential Administration, Aides to the President, they all said that there was no need for such a political force, that all decisions are made by chairmen of town and district executive committees and oblast executive committees. They said there is no need to create something artificial. Maybe, they are right. This matter was discussed. I think we need to look into the matter more seriously in the context of the two forthcoming election campaigns. However, this does not mean that we will create artificially some political party that will resemble the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. This would be really bad,” the head of state said.

“I brought up this matter, because I want you to be able to count on the support of NGOs. There are the NGOs the government can rely on during the forthcoming election campaigns. They promote and support their candidates and it is good. They say that the elections to the local councils of deputies are a rehearsal of the parliamentary elections and even the presidential election. I do not want to argue with that. Let us hold this rehearsal if it does good to our people. I do not ask you, I demand you to avoid artificiality,” Aleksandr Lukashenko added.

“Let us work hard so that people would not want any other government. You know what should be done for it: in the construction industry, utilities, agriculture, protection of human rights, salaries, security and other issues. The political component is very important in your future work. We will have nothing, if our economy does not work. The economy is the foundation,” the head of state stressed.

“If our companies perform well and the country’s economy relies on the results of certain companies, believe me we will have everything we need. That means you need to immediately embark on the work with the companies. It pertains, first of all, to chairpersons of city and regional executive committees and heads of municipal administrations. This is the zone of your responsibility,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.