TV debate of the presidential candidates will be held on October 3, the chairwoman of the Central Election Commission Lidziya Yarmoshyna told journalists after the meeting of the CEC, which reviewed issues of preparation for presidential election.

The debate will be held on the eve of the early voting, live on October 3 at 17:00, said Lidziya Yarmoshyna.

According to her, candidate for the presidency will be able to appoint their trustee to take part in televised debates, if they do not want to be there in person, or may even refuse to participate, the official news agency BelTA reports.

If more than five candidates want to participate in a televised debate, the debate will be given 1.5 hours (90 minutes) – from 17:00 to 18:30. If there are fewer participants of the debate, time will be 60 minutes. “The order of the TV debates and anchors will be determined by Belteleradiocompany,” explained the chairwoman of the CEC.

On September 14, candidates will be given time for their single appearances on state television, and later – on the radio.

Political analyst Valery Karbalevich said to portal naviny.by that Lukashenka will not agree to a televised debate, as it was in 2010. The expert, however, does not consider this format too dangerous for the authorities. According to him, a good individual performance of a candidate may be even more spectacular. In the case of debates without Lukashenka, the talk among the opposition will not intrigue the general public, the expert believes.

“If there is Haydukevich (Syarhei Haydukevich, leader of the Liberal Democratic Party ), he will probably attack the opposition, the opposition will attack him, and it will distract attention from criticism of Lukashenka,” predicts Mr Karbalevich.

Presidential Election 2015 will be held on October 11. There is currently open a signature collection inf avor of individuals who wish to become candidates for the presidency. Each wannabee has to collect 100 thousand signatures before 21 August.

belta.by, belsat.eu/en/