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Economist Tsyareshchanka applies to central election commission for registration of his nomination group

Economist Viktar Tsyareshchanka, a former head of the Minsk-based International Institute of Management, has applied to the central election commission for the registration of his nomination group, BelaPAN reports.

This was the first application submitted to the commission for the registration of a nomination group set up to collect the required 100,000 voter signatures for the presidential hopeful to get registered as a candidate. The deadline for filing applications is September 24.

Mr. Tsyareshchanka, 60, is not affiliated with any political party.

The economist participated in the 1994 and 2001 presidential campaigns. He withdrew from the race in 1994 to throw his support behind Alyaksandr Lukashenka who was then elected president. In 2001, the central election commission denied Mr. Tsyareshchanka registration as a candidate, declaring a significant part of his ballot-access signatures invalid.

Mr. Tsyareshchanka told earlier BelaPAN that he would not speculate about his winning chances in the coming election. “The main thing now is to collect the 100,000 signatures required for the registration as a candidate,” he said.

Under electoral regulations, a nomination group must have at least 100 members. A registration application must be filed no later than 85 days before the polling date. Attached to the application should be a list of the group’s members.

Eight persons have confirmed their plans to run for President since the House of Representatives on Tuesday set the presidential vote for December 19.