Lukashenko to redistribute powers between public bodies before amending Constitution

<p> MINSK, Mar 30 - PrimePress. Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko intends to redistribute the powers between the state authorities before amending the country’s constitution. He said this during a meeting on 30 March, the president's press service reported. </p> <p>   </p> <p> “There is no need to change the Constitution to redistribute powers, even big powers. We are changing it for other reasons. Before making changes to the Constitution, we will redistribute powers so that it does not look like that everything is concentrated in the president’s hands and he makes all the decisions,” Lukashenko said. </p> <p>   </p> <p> According to him, the president will still have basic powers that can influence any decision from the bottom up. “Wherever Lukashenko is, whichever president is here, he will be the head of state with strong powers, because if we “dissolve” the future president (not me), I mean powers first of all, the country will not exist. It will disappear,” Lukashenko said. </p> <p>   </p> <p> The government, local authorities and parliamentarians prepared a package of proposals to expand the scope of authority of the government and other state bodies. </p> <p>   </p> <p> “I studied them carefully. My first suggestion is that you shouldn’t pass them instantly and indiscriminately. It should be an evolutionary process. We have to finish the process before the draft of the new Constitution is submitted to a referendum. That is, this year we have to make the final decision on the powers of the president, government, parliament, governors, and even lower ones, if necessary,” Lukashenko said. </p> <p>   </p> <p> At the same time, Lukashenko admitted that the discipline in the country is inadequate. “I’ll say frankly: probably, those present here do not think that we have an absolute agreement of opinion, a strong administrative machinery at various levels. There were enough people in the government who took a wait-and-see approach before the recent events, they wanted to see how the day of freedom would pass, whether workers would rise up in the spring, etc. Then they realized that the things the media predicted, especially in Russia, did not materialize; the government held its ground. The government has kept its footing and will continue to do so, we have preserved the state and will keep strengthening it. Therefore, whoever wants to work – stop hunkering down and start working. We have too much work to do,” the president said. </p> <p>   </p> <p> In his words, the decision whether it is necessary to introduce amendments to the constitution had been long overdue and was made solely on the basis of the internal interests of the country and society. “To those who have forgotten it, I remind you that it is not Russia and the Russian leadership (as it is customary in Russia now) that is forcing Lukashenko to revise the Constitution. No. We have been doing this for a long time. We have come to the point when these changes have to be made, because Lukashenko will not last forever and we do not know who will be next and what kind of leader - dictator or authoritarian - he will be, we do not know either. This is the first most important reason why we had to refer to the Constitution,” said Lukashenko. </p> <p>   </p> <p> In his words, the process of power redistribution should be closely linked to the constitutional reform. “We shouldn’t make decisions, which as a result of work on the Constitution will have to be later repealed or brought to another state. Therefore, we will have to work closely with the Constitutional Commission. And on the basis of the new constitution, we must come up with a calibrated and perfectly designed vertical of power with renewed powers,” he said. </p> <p>   </p> <p> As previously reported, in June 2020, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko once again spoke about the possibility of adopting a new Constitution within two years after former presidential candidate Viktor Babariko proposed to return to the 1994 Constitution, which significantly limited the powers of the president. Since then, Lukashenko, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian and Russian officials have repeatedly spoken about a possible constitutional reform in Belarus as a solution to the political crisis that has arisen in the country. Lukashenko said in September 2020 that he was going to call a new presidential election under a new Constitution. Although the Belarusian authorities have been talking about constitutional amendments since 2010, not a single draft or even a roadmap for constitutional reform has been made public. </p> <p>   </p> <p> As previously reported, in an address to the VI All-Belarusian People’s Congress on 11 February Lukashenko announced that a new draft Constitution of Belarus will be ready in 2021 and would be discussed countrywide within a year. End </p> <p>   </p> <p> In accordance with presidential ordinance #105 of March 16, 2021, a 36-strong constitutional commission was established, which is to submit proposals to amend the constitution by August 1, 2021. The proposals will subsequently be put on a national referendum. End </p> <p>   </p>

2021-03-31

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