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19 April 2019, 15:23

Lukashenko: Constitution should be in sync with Belarus' interests

MINSK, 19 April (BelTA) – The expected adjustment of the country's basic law should serve the interests of Belarus and its citizens at the present stage, Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko said as he delivered his Annual State of the Nation Address on 19 April, BelTA has learned.

“I am convinced that thanks to the balanced and scrupulous work of experts we will have the Constitution meeting the interests of our country and our citizens at the present stage,” the head of state noted.

According to Aleksandr Lukashenko, consistent work has been in progress to improve the legislation to respond to changing realities, new social and economic challenges facing the country. “We should prepare amendments to the basic law having in mind the country's long-term development goals,” he said.

Judges of the Constitutional Court are scrutinizing the proposals to amend the Constitution. “They are highly professional specialists who bear great responsibility for accuracy and relevance of the amendments. The public and scholars are involved in this challenging work. We just recently reached a new stage. I instructed the head of the President Administration to engage scholars - highly-qualified people, members of the public. The next step will involve individual members of the parties to make sure it is an accurate document for discussion at the level of the president,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

The head of state added that the media and the internet show great interest in possible changes. “It is not worth talking about options right now. They are just options. We have not yet developed a concept to amend the Constitution. It will be made public as soon as I receive the final proposals from different segments of our society,” the Belarusian leader said.

Aleksandr Lukashenko said that he would not like to leave the Constitution in its current format to his successor: “I would not want this to happen. We have already passed the period when we needed a strong presidential power. We do not need to divide the power (it is indivisible). We need to give more powers to other branches of government. For instance, the government, together with the parliament, need to be made responsible for the country's economic development. The National Bank cannot remain aloof, too. Control will be exercised in various areas. We have already looked into options, including the State Control Committee, other ministries and agencies.”

“As for the future head of state, he or she should be indeed the head of state. He or she should not have to run around all those fields and farms. Not long ago I rebuked the government for not visiting farms. You need to go there, fulfill your duties. It is high time to take a look at our system and leave the president with the duties he or she must perform as the head of state.”

“Together we will streamline the Constitution and decide what it should be for our people. We will not divide the country into pieces. We also need to learn from our neighbors' mistakes. The time will come and we will develop our new Fundamental Law. It will be largely renewed. This new Law will be the continuation of what we have achieved so far,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

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