MINSK, 30 March (BelTA) – We need to decide on the powers of state authorities this year, Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko said at a meeting to discuss redistribution of powers between government bodies on 30 March, BelTA has learned.
Last year the president gave an instruction to study the possibility of redistributing powers between various branches of government and strengthening their accountability. The Council of Ministers, local authorities and parliamentarians prepared a package of proposals to expand the scope of authority of the government and other state bodies.
“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, during this year we have to make the final decision on the powers of the president, government, parliament, governors, and even lower ones, if necessary,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.