President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko announced the need to develop a constitution for the republic, "not tied to the individual," including the personality of the head of state.

He stated this during a working meeting with the Chairman of the Supreme Court of Belarus Valentin Sukalo.

Lukashenka said that work is now underway on the third version of the country's main law, and asked the chairman of the Supreme Court to take part in it.

“Therefore, I believe that despite the fact that we have a somewhat authoritarian system of organizing public life, nevertheless, the president protects and protects the courts.

But this is a personal aspect, and it is necessary to make sure that a system that is not tied to individuals, including Lukashenko, works, ”the head of state said.

  • © Press Service of the President of the Republic of Belarus

Lukashenka also criticized the idea of ​​returning to the 1994 constitution.

“Going back is probably not a movement.

This is change, but it is not movement forward.

I would like these changes to move our society forward.

We will insist on such changes and propose such changes to our people, ”BelTA news agency quoted the Belarusian leader as saying.

Alexander Lukashenko said that the draft of the updated basic law of the country will be submitted for public discussion.

“To play, express their opinion, what they like, don't like, their thoughts.

But at the same time, I want to say to those who are especially zealous, who are shouting for change with hubbub: they must understand that every adult has one vote when voting for a particular issue in a referendum on the Constitution - both the peasants and the workers, teachers, doctors, specialists, and those who have reached the age of 18 and today wander the streets of calm, clean, comfortable Minsk, ”the head of the republic added.

It should be reminded that one of the unregistered candidates for the presidency of Belarus, Viktor Babariko, proposed earlier to hold a referendum on the return to the 1994 constitution.

Formally, this Constitution is still in effect in the country, but over the past decades, several changes have been made to the document.

First, following the results of the referendum, the Russian language received the status of the state language, and the president received the right to dissolve parliament in case of gross or systematic violation of the basic law.

Also subsequently, an amendment was made to the Constitution, according to which one person can run for president an unlimited number of times.

In the original version of the document, the number of terms was limited to two.

Load redistribution

Alexander Lukashenko began talking about constitutional reform back in April 2019, long before the mass protests.

The politician announced then that there would be no question of creating a system when “Lukashenka seemed to leave and did not leave”.

“This will not happen in the country, I promise you for sure.

I think about the future of the country, not about my personal power.

I have already influenced, ”the president said.

He explained that the republic had already passed the stage when it needed a strong executive power, the time had come for the redistribution of powers in favor of other branches of government.

At the same time, the head of state must first of all deal with personnel issues, "pull up political parties" that would "generate normal leaders."

  • RIA News

  • © Vasily Fedosenko

However, the concrete image of the updated constitution has not yet been developed.

During a working trip to the Soligorsk region in June 2020, Alexander Lukashenko raised this topic again, saying that a constitution could be drafted in two years.

“Several options have already been offered to me - they do not work.

People are simply afraid to make more drastic changes to the Constitution, ”the president said.

He added that the process of transferring powers down to the level of governors and chairmen of district executive committees should begin even before the adoption of the new constitution.

The draft of the new constitution will be submitted to a referendum, Alexander Lukashenko said earlier.

Already under the new constitution, presidential and legislative elections can be held in the country.

The current head of state announced this during a trip to the Minsk Wheel Tractor Plant (MZKT) on August 17.

On the other hand, Lukashenka has rejected opposition demands for a repeat presidential election.

“You will never wait for me to do something under pressure,” the Belarusian leader stressed.

- There

will be no

(elections. -

RT

).

Because there will be no MZKT, no MAZ, no BELAZ, in six months we will destroy everything.

Elections are not conducive to a normal environment.

Moreover, there are a lot of problems now, ”the Belarusian leader said.

According to Lukashenka, the August 9 elections were held “in a civilized manner”.

“80% cannot be falsified,” he added.

  • Elections in Belarus on August 9

  • Reuters

  • © Vasily Fedosenko

Speaking about why Alexander Lukashenko has actualized the topic of constitutional reform and new elections right now, experts suggest that in this way the republic's authorities want to calm the population.

“Discussion of the reform is an opportunity to invite protesters to dialogue.

Thus, Lukashenka wants to show that he is ready to talk about the development of the political system.

He suggests moving from a revolutionary approach to an evolutionary one.

His approach involves gradual changes that are discussed with most people, "Pavel Feldman, deputy director of the Institute for Strategic Studies and Forecasts of RUDN University, said in an interview with RT.

Dmitry Abzalov, a leading expert in the analytical department of the Center for Current Politics, adheres to a similar point of view.

“Lukashenka is trying to intercept the opposition agenda, so early elections may well take place in the country after the referendum.

The Belarusian president is going to increase the weight of the parliament, and this should satisfy the public's request for change, ”the expert explained in a commentary on RT.

Negotiation basis

However, the Belarusian opposition has already rejected Lukashenka's initiatives.

Maria Kolesnikova, a member of the presidium of the Belarusian opposition coordinating council, said that Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s proposal is a manipulation and an attempt to appease the protesters.

It follows from Kolesnikova's words that, on the whole, the opposition does not object to the idea of ​​constitutional reform.

But at the same time he insists that the document should contain two points: limiting presidential terms to two and increasing the powers of parliament.

Preparations for constitutional reform are taking place in a difficult environment.

On August 9, presidential elections were held in Belarus.

According to the official data of the Central Election Commission of the republic, the incumbent head of state Alexander Lukashenko won them with 80.1% of the vote.

Citizens who disagreed with these results began to take to the streets.

  • Protests in Belarus

  • Reuters

  • © Vasily Fedosenko

Street protests do not stop in Belarus.

Large demonstrations took place the day before, on 30 August.

The position of the protesters is shared in the West: earlier, the head of the European Council Charles Michel said that the EU intends to soon impose sanctions against “a significant number of those responsible for the violence in the republic and election fraud”.

Also, the European Union will study the possibility of applying restrictive measures against the Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko. 

In addition, on August 31, the authorities of Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia announced a ban on entry into their territories for Alexander Lukashenko.

The ban also applies to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Belarus, the Minister of Justice and the Prosecutor General, officials of the presidential administration, members of the Central Election Commission of Belarus and law enforcement agencies. 

Dmitry Abzalov believes that the constitutional reform can serve to stabilize the internal political situation in Belarus and ultimately lead to a softening of the West's rhetoric towards Lukashenko.

“To this end, Lukashenka should be brought up to negotiations with players capable of constructive negotiations.

This will bring down the heat of the confrontation.

But there will be many who want to disrupt this process.

Therefore, it is now important at least to start negotiations.

If basic agreements are reached, a way out of the political crisis is possible, ”the expert said.

According to Pavel Feldman, Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s initiative to redistribute power in the country will not find a response from the opposition.

“The opposition demands one thing - the immediate resignation of Lukashenka and re-elections in the very near future.

The demands of the protesters are not limited to some kind of targeted changes in the state system, they have come together like a wedge on the figure of the president.

The opposition is going to defiantly boycott the dialogue, ”the expert said.

Western countries will take the same position as the Belarusian opposition, Pavel Feldman believes.

“It will be said in Europe that the referendum on the constitution should be preceded by free democratic elections, with observers from the EU and the OSCE.

Therefore, the constitutional reform is unlikely to soften relations between Minsk and Western countries, ”the expert added.