On Friday, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya said in an interview that she would not seek presidency if Belarus happened to conduct a new election.
Previously this week, Tsikhanouskaya stated that she was willing to lead Belarus, and called on a legal mechanism to be established to protect a new fair presidential election if one is held.
Tsikhanouskaya said in an interview:
“I’m not planning to run myself,”
Alexander Lukashenko, who has served for 26 years, and is Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s main opponent, won an election held on August 9, despite vote-rigging allegations. Lukashenko took 80.23% of the vote, while his biggest opposition opponent, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, had just 9.9%.
Tsikhanouskaya previously fled to Lithuania, only reappearing to assume the role of her husband, Siarhei Tsikhanouski, in his election campaign, after he was imprisoned in May.
