MINSK, 18 August (BelTA) – The draft amendments to the Constitution will be submitted to Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko within a week, Chairman of the Constitutional Court, Chairman of the Constitutional Commission Piotr Miklashevich told reporters on 18 August, BelTA has learned.
“Today, at the meeting of the Constitutional Commission, a decision was made to send the proposed constitutional amendments developed by the commission to the president. The Constitutional Commission convened two times, the drafting group met five times to discuss in detail the remarks made by the commission members. The proposals were fine-tuned and today we can say that the Constitutional Commission proposes to amend 53 articles of the Constitution, introduce 14 new articles and remove 2 articles,” Piotr Miklashevich said.
The Constitutional Commission proposes to retain the presidential form of government, to redistribute powers between the president, the parliament and the government proceeding from their constitutional functions, so that all branches of power will work effectively and in close coordination and will be able to efficiently address problems facing the country. “The public administration system is entering a new stage when all government bodies will be able to effectively exercise their powers,” the chairman of the Constitutional Court said. “It is proposed to formalize the constitutional status of the Belarusian People’s Congress, a new state authority. Our task was to find the best way to turn it from an advisory body into a constitutional government establishment. On the other hand, the Belarusian People’s Congress did not disrupt the existing system of government; it was a body that maintained the stability of the entire system of government. Its most important powers were to address strategic issues related to the further development of our country,” Piotr Miklashevich said.
It is also proposed to specify the constitutional foundations of the electoral system. “We propose to raise the constitutional status of the Central Election Commission, to create conditions for the full implementation of the electoral rights of our citizens. We also propose to expand social benefits for families with many children, disabled people, pensioners, as well as the rights and freedoms of our citizens. It is planned to introduce a new human rights institution - the Commissioner for Human Rights, as well as to ease the procedure for individuals to apply directly to the Constitutional Court, that is, to submit a constitutional complaint directly to the Constitutional Court. Thus, we can say today that all the proposals developed by the Constitutional Commission seek to further improve the system of government and public administration, to expand social guarantees and the rights and freedoms of our citizens, to maintain the sustainable development of our country as a democratic, welfare and rule-of-law state,” Piotr Miklashevich said.
The chairman of the Constitutional Court added that the draft amendments to the Constitution will be submitted to the president within a week. “We have adopted the document today. After it is scrutinized and finalized, it will be forwarded to the president in accordance with the established procedure. This should happen before 1 September. After that we expect to hold a meeting of the Constitutional Commission where the head of state will be present. The meeting will focus on the proposals submitted by the Constitutional Commission, a number of controversial issues, like the formation of the Belarusian People’s Congress, the death penalty, the right of labor collectives to nominate candidates to councils of deputies,” he said.
“Today, at the meeting of the Constitutional Commission, a decision was made to send the proposed constitutional amendments developed by the commission to the president. The Constitutional Commission convened two times, the drafting group met five times to discuss in detail the remarks made by the commission members. The proposals were fine-tuned and today we can say that the Constitutional Commission proposes to amend 53 articles of the Constitution, introduce 14 new articles and remove 2 articles,” Piotr Miklashevich said.
The Constitutional Commission proposes to retain the presidential form of government, to redistribute powers between the president, the parliament and the government proceeding from their constitutional functions, so that all branches of power will work effectively and in close coordination and will be able to efficiently address problems facing the country. “The public administration system is entering a new stage when all government bodies will be able to effectively exercise their powers,” the chairman of the Constitutional Court said. “It is proposed to formalize the constitutional status of the Belarusian People’s Congress, a new state authority. Our task was to find the best way to turn it from an advisory body into a constitutional government establishment. On the other hand, the Belarusian People’s Congress did not disrupt the existing system of government; it was a body that maintained the stability of the entire system of government. Its most important powers were to address strategic issues related to the further development of our country,” Piotr Miklashevich said.
It is also proposed to specify the constitutional foundations of the electoral system. “We propose to raise the constitutional status of the Central Election Commission, to create conditions for the full implementation of the electoral rights of our citizens. We also propose to expand social benefits for families with many children, disabled people, pensioners, as well as the rights and freedoms of our citizens. It is planned to introduce a new human rights institution - the Commissioner for Human Rights, as well as to ease the procedure for individuals to apply directly to the Constitutional Court, that is, to submit a constitutional complaint directly to the Constitutional Court. Thus, we can say today that all the proposals developed by the Constitutional Commission seek to further improve the system of government and public administration, to expand social guarantees and the rights and freedoms of our citizens, to maintain the sustainable development of our country as a democratic, welfare and rule-of-law state,” Piotr Miklashevich said.
The chairman of the Constitutional Court added that the draft amendments to the Constitution will be submitted to the president within a week. “We have adopted the document today. After it is scrutinized and finalized, it will be forwarded to the president in accordance with the established procedure. This should happen before 1 September. After that we expect to hold a meeting of the Constitutional Commission where the head of state will be present. The meeting will focus on the proposals submitted by the Constitutional Commission, a number of controversial issues, like the formation of the Belarusian People’s Congress, the death penalty, the right of labor collectives to nominate candidates to councils of deputies,” he said.
