6 October, Minsk / Yekaterina Nechayeva - BELTA /. The Chairperson of the Central Commission for Elections and Republican Referendums, Lidiya Yermoshina, does not rule out the registration of more than four presidential candidates in Belarus. She stated this today while presenting the first certificate of an international observer for the presidential elections in Belarus to the head of the CIS observer mission, Sergey Lebedev, as reported by a BELTA correspondent. According to the head of the Central Election Commission, the current election campaign for the presidential elections is comparable in activity to the campaigns of 2001 and 1994, when signatures for the nomination of candidates were collected by 18 initiative groups. At the same time, the CEC of Belarus has never registered more than four presidential candidates. However, considering that signature collection is very active this year, including during pickets, many of which are organized in Minsk, Lidiya Yermoshina does not rule out that more than four presidential candidates will be registered. In general, the signature collection campaign is proceeding calmly, and no official statements or appeals regarding violations have been received by the CEC. "There are only oral complaints, but not about state blunders. Potential candidates do not always find common ground with the management of enterprises near which they collect signatures," noted Lidiya Yermoshina, adding that even complaints made via the Internet are subject to verification by the Central Election Commission. -0-

BELTA