8 May, Minsk /BELTA correspondent/. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko believes that elections by party lists contradict the mentality of Belarusians. The Head of State expressed this opinion today, addressing the Belarusian people and the National Assembly with a Message, as a BELTA correspondent reports. "The people must elect deputies under the majoritarian system. A deputy should be as close as possible to his constituency. People should elect him in a specific territory and know him by sight. Then he will not be detached by some lists," said Alexander Lukashenko. "This one leaves, the next one on the list comes. Who elected you? What kind of system is this, what kind of elections? This contradicts the mentality of the Belarusian people. Therefore, I am personally against it." "Well, what can you do, the world is developing this way. Godspeed, these parties should exist. But more than half of them are dead souls. And today they travel around Europe, America, showing off. Whom do you represent? You represent yourselves, that little group of people who are not even fighting for you," the Head of State noted. "Nobody is forbidden from doing anything in Belarus today: nominate yourself in a specific constituency, fight, win, take a seat in parliament," emphasized the Belarusian leader. At the same time, he noted that the renewal dictated by life inevitably affects all spheres of the state and society. "In this sense, the country needs further development of the political system. It is obvious that the role of political parties will be strengthened. And we must arrive at a normal civilized party system. Perhaps, as party structures strengthen, we will mature for a transition to a mixed electoral system, including elections by party lists," Alexander Lukashenko did not rule out.

BELTA