The U.S. Demands that Opposition Runs in Election, Opposition Cites Fair Conditions as Prerequisite

Mathew Palmer (AP/Darko Vojinovic)

Opposition representatives who met with U.S. envoy Matthew Palmer on Nov. 5 have confirmed that they were openly told the U.S. wants them to participate in the regular parliamentary polls due next spring. They, however, say that they cannot accept this demand unless all or most of their earlier requests for the creation of fair and democratic election conditions have been met, and that, otherwise, they would boycott the polls.

The opposition representatives contacted by BETA also said that such position of Washington was worrying and disappointing. They added that during their meeting with Palmer they reiterated that it would be good to change the format of the ongoing dialogue between the authorities and the opposition and that they proposed that representatives of the EU and U.S. hold separate talks with representatives of the ruling bloc and the part of the opposition favoring the boycott if the requests for fair election conditions are not met.

 “We were told that Washington is serious, that we could count on having access to the RTS public service. We reiterated that the boycott is not our goal and that we want to participate in the vote but that under the existing conditions that is not possible. We will now wait to see how the situation will develop,” an opposition source told BETA.