MINSK, 15 March (BelTA) - The Constitution should be amended only in the parts that are overdue and obvious, Chairman of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly Vladimir Andreichenko said at a meeting of Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko with members of the constitutional commission, BelTA has learned.
“People's unity is much needed today. This is something what the society wants. It is very symbolic that the start to the work of the constitutional commission was given on Constitution Day. The Constitution has united the people and has allowed us to build successfully the Belarusian statehood for a quarter of a century. Today we are facing new challenges, and the work will certainly not be easy. We need to ensure further development of the state and society, while preserving sovereignty, civil peace and harmony," Vladimir Andreichenko said.
This is confirmed by the analysis of the proposals received during the dialogue platforms and sent directly to the House of Representatives. “The main conclusion is that the absolute majority of people opposes radical reforms. Almost all support such immutable values as the independence of the country, the welfare state, the multi-vector foreign policy, development of friendly relations with Russia and participation in the integration associations," the speaker of the House of the Belarusian Parliament said.
Vladimir Andreichenko also stated that people support the idea of the presidential republic, understanding that it is the guarantor of effective development of the economy, state structure, and social sector.
“Therefore, we need to approach the Constitution reform in an extremely balanced manner, critically assessing the proposals coming from various social groups. I am convinced that the potential of the current Constitution is still hugely untapped, and that it should be amended only in the parts that are long overdue and obvious,” he said.
According to Vladimir Andreichenko, this is evidenced by the fact that a significant part of the proposals are not directly related to the Constitution, but related to the social and youth policy of the state, environmental policy, housing, utility services and so on. “I think we should solve all these issues through improving the quality and the authority of the laws rather than through inflating the constitutional norms,” said the speaker of the House of Representatives.
