The task of parties is to unite society in the face of modern challenges and threats

The President of Belarus, Aleksandr Lukashenko, held a meeting with leaders of political parties. The conversation was about the development of party building in the country.

The Head of State reminded that he announced the plans for such a meeting back in March as he addressed the nation and the parliament: 
‟Back then we agreed that we will meet with leaders of the political parties, which have passed the reregistration process. Three political parties have been reregistered: the Communist Party, the Liberal Democratic Party, and the Republican Labour and Justice Party. A new party has been registered as well — Belaya Rus. 

Let’s be frank, in the course of reregistration we cleansed the playing field of decorative associations and of those, whose efforts are aimed at undermining the foundations of the constitutional system of our country. Belarus is a young sovereign state. The government system we’ve chosen — a presidential republic — is optimal for our society taking into account historical traditions and the geopolitical location. And specifically because our nation accepts this form of government. People should not just understand it. They should accept it as an axiom,”  Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

The President also noted that essentially extremist groups bent on undermining the statehood had been operating for a long time under the guise of ‘democratic forms of political participation’.
However, Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed that he has nothing against sensible and constructive criticism of various actions of the government, ‟I don’t mind discussing the problems that exist today, including in a critical manner. I don’t even mind if the authorities are criticised constructively and businesslike for various errors or faults… There are plenty of problems, but criticism should be sensible and constructive. For the sake of creation instead of destruction.”
The Head of State stated that right now the Belarusian society does not put much trust in political parties, ‟Not only because of the kind of the nation we have. But also because we have not seriously taken care of development of the political party system. Time will tell. Nevertheless, we have the most important thing: active people, who are willing to participate in the country’s political life and show interest in matters of societal and political development. All of us should work with these people,” Aleksandr Lukashenko noted.
The President added: when discussions about the development of the political party system began several years ago, he formulated one condition: it has to be done exclusively taking into account national peculiarities and specifics of the domestic political process.
‟We should not copy all kinds of topics from Soviet history, Russian history. Even more so, we should not copy Western experience. We are not going to recreate the Soviet Union’s Communist Party. We are not building the party of the state. However, we will not split the society according to party affiliation. We will use positive practices. 

Instead of fighting against the state political parties are supposed to compete with each other at the level of projects and legislative initiatives. Everything that is geared towards creation. This is why political parties have to accomplish yet another goal: they are supposed to unite the society instead of disuniting it, particularly in the face of modern challenges and threats. It is very important for us to be united nowadays. Because the situation is extremely tense, very dangerous. Particularly if we look into the future, at perspectives,” Aleksandr Lukashenko noted.

The Head of State believes that Belarusians have a long way to go in matters of party building. At the same time, the state has created the necessary legal conditions, and parties have been given ample opportunities to participate in the electoral process.
Aleksandr Lukashenko drew attention to the current issue, especially before the upcoming parliamentary elections.
‟I’ve sincerely said that the entire power vertical has been mobilised to organise sensible, neat, and decent parliamentary elections, elections to the Belarusian People’s Congress. Well, and the presidential election a year later. I want you to also understand that we have another peculiarity: the ongoing change of generations. 

As for my attitude to political parties, which leaders are present here, you are all equal for me. You are patriotic. And I’d like to express my huge gratitude to you, to all the leaders for the position you demonstrate. Looking at it, some people say that Lukashenko has once again come up with something special. I was not the one to invent it. We are truly special. We don’t fight with each other over something,” the Belarusian leader stressed.

How is party building going in Belarus?

Taking into account the upcoming important election campaign, Aleksandr Lukashenko proposed to discuss at the meeting the participation of political parties in it, as well as the vision of the prospects for party building. The first to speak was the Chairman of the Belarusian Party Belaya Rus Oleg Romanov. He, in particular, noted that this new party was created on the initiative of the public association of the same name and works in close conjunction with it, so people on the ground do not always distinguish between a public association and a party. “The solution to this problem is that it is necessary to implement such a strategic a task that will allow, on the one hand, to benefit the Belarusian people, gain authority among our citizens, and on the other hand, to clearly define our place in the political field of our country. We believe that such a task can be the political education of society and the formation of its political culture.”
Oleg Romanov named the party’s participation in the upcoming election campaign as another area of work. Party members will be nominated to election commissions, become observers at polling stations and, of course, will be nominated as candidates for deputies at all levels. The nomination of candidates for deputies of the House of Representatives will be carried out by the party congress, which will take place on December 23rd this year.”

Chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party of Belarus Oleg Gaidukevich agreed that the parties themselves are largely to blame for their low popularity among the people.
Addressing the Head of State, he explained, “Trust in parties is not great. And why? 1994, when you were nominated as a presidential candidate and all the people were with you. How did the party leaders behave? I remember it very well, even though I was at school. How did party leaders behave in 1995–1996 in the Supreme Council, when all the people were for you? This is where this trust comes from. How did the leaders of the parties, which are now liquidated, behave in 2020?”
According to Oleg Gaidukevich, he was always surprised by the position of radicals who say: how is it that all four parties support the President? The leader of the LDPB noted, “I cannot understand, if the President was elected by the people, how can the party not support the President? This means that this party does not support the people. And the fact that each party has its own view on how to move towards the goal you set is also absolutely normal.”
Oleg Gaidukevich is convinced, “The parties still need to prove their need for the country’. We are at the beginning of our journey. Unfortunately, the history of our country has shown that party leaders were not always with the people, and they did not always hear these people.”
The LDPB Chairman also proposed annual meetings of party leaders with the Head of State.

First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Belarus Aleksei Sokol outlined the main directions of party political work. Among them are widespread agitation and propaganda work among the masses, including young people, and the further development of the party’s organisational structures.
One of Aleksei Sokol’s proposals is to invite representatives of left-wing parties from EU countries to the elections as international observers. “Taking into account the upcoming election campaigns, the Communist Party can work together with the Foreign Affairs Ministry on inviting foreign experts as international observers in the person of deputies of the united left factions in PACE and the European Parliament who stand in our positions and support Belarus.
Another of the Communist Party’s initiatives is to hold an anti-fascist forum every year.”

During a conversation with journalists, Aleksandr Khizhnyak, Chairman of the Republican Party of Labour and Justice, expressed the following idea: if a party works and conveys its position to the population, only then will it find a certain response, ‟Time forces us to work more intensely than ever. You see what’s happening in the world. People are becoming more enlightened in terms of access to information and analytics. And this has to be taken into account, because today you can’t just go out to people. And the Head of State drew attention to the need for professionalism: people must know what they are doing, have the appropriate information, competence — then there will be a result.”

Based on materials of sb.by and belta.by
Photos by belta