The Belarusian leader gave an interview to Belsat, in which she discusses decentralization of power and local elections in Belarus. In the conversation, Ms. Tsikhanouskaya emphasizes: Belarusians will have to learn self-governance.
“We need to transition from a dictatorial regime to a government where there is a separation of powers between the president, parliament, and courts. Independent media will be very needed as the so-called “fourth estate”. I am confident that local self-government should receive more attention. Because people should have the opportunity to choose their own leader, both for their small village or region. So they will understand that a leader must be accountable to the people, not to someone who issues decrees”.
“Belarusians used to have experience with local self-governance. There used to be the Magdeburg Law, which gave more power to the leaders elected by local people. We discussed with European colleagues how they implement this self-governance. Because we have lived under dictatorship for 30 years – and we don’t have enough professionals to immediately establish this system. That’s why I talked to leaders of many states to arrange some workshops or projects where they would share experience on how this work is organized. Because this experience cannot be gained passively; it must be learned.
The full interview is available at the link.
