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Work on Belarus Constitution draft nearing completion

MINSK, 4 November (BelTA) – The work on the Belarus Constitution draft is nearing completion. The points of controversy were discussed on 4 November at another meeting of Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko with members of the working group to finalize the Constitution draft, BelTA informs.

“Today we have become closer to the final version of the Constitution draft that will be submitted for national discussion. In the run-up to the meeting, the president received the Constitution draft that had been fine-tuned by the Constitutional Commission and the working group. The work on the draft never stops and envisages meetings, consultations, making additions,” Head of the Belarus President Administration Igor Sergeyenko said.

According to him, the meeting with the head of state raised a number of issues. The role of the Belarusian People’s Congress was one of the most important points of the agenda. It was proposed to give the congress a constitutional status. “The meeting discussed the powers of the congress and delegate selection rules, as well as the way the government structure will change after the strengthening of the role of the Belarusian People’s Congress,” Igor Sergeyenko said.

He noted that a principled decision on the role of the Belarusian People’s Congress was made. Nevertheless, some points still have to be finalized. “This also pertains to the powers of the Belarusian People’s Congress. It might be necessary to supplement and evaluate certain points so that the powers of the Belarusian People’s Congress will not conflict with the actions of the president and the parliament and that the system of government in our country will remain balanced. In general, we reached an understanding of the position, role, powers, functioning and status of the  Belarusian People’s Congress,” he said.

At the meeting with the president, a number of other topics were also brought up, including the electoral system, protection of individual rights and freedoms, the work of the parliament, requirements for the president, as well as many other aspects of the Constitution.

Some transitional provisions were scrutinized. “They will govern the way we will live after the adoption of the Constitution and the way laws and other normative legal acts will be implemented,” Igor Sergeyenko said.

“It was a rather constructive and tense conversation. The head of state gave an instruction to finalize and fine-tune certain points, including legal terms, and specific articles of the Constitution,” Igor Sergeyenko added.

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