Lukashenko reported by Chairperson of the Council of the Republic
The President of Belarus, Aleksandr Lukashenko, has received today Natalya Kochanova, the Chairperson of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly, with a report. The main topics discussed at the meeting included the peculiarities of legislative activity, the work of the expert council under the Council of the Republic, the activities of local Councils of Deputies, the upcoming election campaign and work with people.
Before the report, Aleksandr Lukashenko first of all wondered about the peculiarities of the legislative activity of parliamentarians of the current convocation, which is finishing its work, “Maybe there are some shortcomings, features that we should take into account in our law-making after the elections, in the future.”
The meeting also tackled the activities of the Expert Council and Expert Advisory Council under the Council of the Republic. The President was interested in what their work experience had shown, “Hasn’t this expert council become an appendage of some bureaucratic or government body? We agreed that this would be a serious filter, comprising of experts and reviewing documents submitted for the President’s consideration. This is very important in order not to unbalance the system. Therefore, I thought that this expert council would not be superfluous. And there shouldn’t be too much bureaucracy there either; this must not be allowed under any circumstances.”
The activities of local Councils of Deputies are in the area of attention of the upper house of Parliament.
“We agreed that the Council of the Republic would take local councils under its patronage,” noted Aleksandr Lukashenko. “This is generally your area of responsibility alongside law-making. Because [no one] will do this job better than you, the Council of the Republic. How are things going here? What needs to be done in the future?”
The President named the upcoming election campaign for the election of deputies to Parliament and local councils as a very hot topic, “I would ask primarily you, the President Administration, and, if necessary, the lower house of Parliament to get involved in holding these elections. Moreover, you are the Belarus President’s Authorised representative for Minsk. Minsk has always been distinguished by some peculiarity. How are things going on here? We agreed with you a long time ago that we would need to see how ready all government bodies are for the elections. In short, the Central Election Commission needs assistance, because we do not have such established bureaucratic, administrative systems that would deal with elections, except for the CEC. The main ones, so to speak, on an amateur basis. Therefore, this issue must be kept under control. You have the corresponding experience.”
The Head of State also thanked the senators, represented by Natalya Kochanova, for their active work with people, “Like no other structure, you took this issue seriously. People really appreciate it. People want to see power; they want to talk to government officials. You did it well.”
