Uładzimir Ivanavič Hančaryk or Vladimir Ivanovich Goncharik (, ; born 29 April 1940) is a Belarusian politician.

Early life

Hančaryk was born in Lahojsk, a town outside of Minsk, in the Byelorussian SSR.

Political career

Beginning in 1986, Hančaryk was a chairman of the Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus. Hančaryk was the only opposition candidate who stood against incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko in the 2001 Belarusian presidential election. His campaign was supported by fellow opposition candidate Siamion Domash, who withdrew his candidacy and urged his supporters to vote for Hančaryk. Many considered Hančaryk to be the best candidate for the opposition because of his previous government experience and his centrist stances. Hančaryk ultimately lost the election by Lukashenko by a sixty percent margin, according to official results from the Central Election Commission. However, the elections were considered fraudulent by independent observers.

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