Meeting with heads of oblast administrations, Minsk city administration, president’s aides for oblasts and Minsk

Readiness of municipal authorities for the final stage of the election campaign was reviewed as Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko met with heads of the oblast administrations, the Minsk city administration, the president’s aides for the oblasts and the city of Minsk on 4 August.

Aleksandr Lukashenko said: “I’d like you to keep in mind that following a good Belarusian tradition or maybe a Soviet tradition we’ve always organized elections as a genuine festivity for people. Outlets to sell food were organized as well as concert sites. After casting their votes people were ready to listen to a good song in order to have a good mood. We shouldn’t forget about such a festivity this time either.”

The head of state noted that the final stage of the election campaign had begun in Belarus and early voting had started. “I am told that work proceeds as usual. Out of some 5,800 polling stations inside the country and abroad all work,” the president said.

Yet Aleksandr Lukashenko wondered whether everything had been done from the point of view of material and organizational support for the campaign.

The head of state urged to ensure the security during the presidential election. “I have already touched on this issue [in the Address to the Belarusian people and the National Assembly]. In no case should we allow the situation when the heads of the commissions and also those who come to the polling stations will complain afterwards that the authorities were not able to ensure the security at polling stations at a decent level. I ask you to pay close attention to this matter,” the head of state said.

He stressed that the law enforcement bodies must provide the adequate response to such developments in order to protect people. “Our people need to be protected. Threats, abusive language and violence must be nipped in the bud,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

“Every eligible voter should be provided with the opportunity to vote. Especially this applies to the elderly, disabled. There are also people who have coronavirus. We need to help them vote so that they can make their choice," Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

According to the president, a record-high number of observers, more than 45,000 have been accredited for this electoral campaign. “There are foreign observers as well. They need to be taken good care of. These are heroic people: they have come to Belarus amid the pandemic to see how our elections proceed,” the head of state said.

Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed that the election would be held in full compliance with the Belarusian legislation and solely in the interests of the Belarusian people.

The head of state also instructed municipal authorities to pay close attention to the harvesting campaign. Aleksandr Lukashenko said: “I often say that the election is well and good, it will end in the evening on 9 August, and on 10 August we will have to take care of hard and routine work that may seem uninteresting to some people. But life cannot go on without this work. So, once again: attention should be paid to peasants. We should continue working as hard, particularly this week. The weather is hot. We should use the opportunity and gather in the bulk of the cereals. To gather in the crops is a number one task. The harvest is good, we cannot lose it.”

The president stressed that all the infrastructure in the regions ranging from communications to transportation should function without interruptions, particularly during the election campaign. “We should make sure that all the infrastructure organizations operate like a clock. It is a good test, on par with a military exercise for the army,” Aleksandr Lukashenko noted.

“Our people always take an active part in elections. We should ask them to find some time and come to cast their votes during the week despite the summer period (everyone has his or her own things to take care of). Our people are conscientious and will respond to our request to participate in this election,” the head of state added.