MINSK - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has vowed not to interfere in the 2012 parliamentary elections in his country.
"You, the people, will have a parliament that you elect yourselves," Lukashenko said at a press conference in Minsk on Friday.
"I always restrain the [local] authorities and tell them not to campaign excessively," Lukashenko said.
He acknowledged that "someone might ask for someone else – like, they might ask some old wife to strike someone off and leave someone else on the list."
"But this is life, and we can’t get away from this. This influences the outcomes and the alignment of sociopolitical forces in the country," Lukashenko said.
The president said it would be wrong to think that, for holding the parliamentary elections, "we will destroy whatever laws we have."
"We will make them transparent. I guarantee this as the head of state," he said.
"I won’t interfere in these elections. Yes, I will hold the governors accountable for the organization of the elections," he said.
