MOGILEV, 11 February (BelTA) - The referendum will crown the large-scale work that carried out in the country during the year, Head of the Belarus President Administration Igor Sergeyenko said as he addressed the regional seminar on the national referendum in Mogilev on 11 February, BelTA has learned.
"In two weeks, we will hold the referendum on the draft amendments and additions to the Constitution, one of the most important events in the life of the country and the most significant event of the year," Igor Sergeyenko said. “In fact, the referendum will be the highlight of the large-scale work that was carried out in the country throughout the year. I will briefly recall its milestones and stages: the setting up of the Constitutional Commission, its subsequent work on proposals submitted from various segments of the society, from dialogue platforms, from corporate and expert communities, the subsequent revision of the Constitution together with the working group, then a nationwide discussion, during which about 10,000 different proposals were filed. Some of the proposals were taken into account. The rest will be taken into account later as a number of laws will be revised."
According to the head of the President Administration, the national discussion has ended, and now active preparation for the referendum is underway. First of all, this is work aimed at explaining the provisions of the Constitution and, accordingly, encouraging citizens to come and vote for the future of the country. Igor Sergeyenko also spoke about the work that is being carried out today, in the run-up to the referendum.
“A set of measures is implemented to ensure a stable social economic and social political situation in the country. A ministerial working group led by the first deputy head of the Belarus President Administration was set up to include representatives of all government bodies and the regional administrations. Currently there are 153 territorial commissions and 5,510 precinct commissions in the country, 26 and 707 respectively in Mogilev Oblast. The commissions were renewed up to 15% across the country and up to 10% in Mogilev Oblast,” he said.
Domestic observation is organized similarly to the previous election campaign. Up to 40,000 people will work as observers during the referendum. They will be traditionally coordinated by the Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus.
Representatives of the CIS and the SCO have been invited as international observers. Some 77 international observers have already been accredited. The work is underway to invite about 30 more observers from the European Union countries. No polling stations will be set up abroad this year, due to the difficulty of ensuring security and the small number of participants.
According to Igor Sergeyenko, the analysis of the information that comes to the Belarus President Administration indicates a calm and controlled environment in the run-up to the referendum.
