Posted: 11.02.2022 16:03:00

Sergeyenko: referendum to crown country’s year-long work

A regional seminar-meeting focusing on the preparation for a nationwide referendum has been held today in Mogilev, with the Head of the President Administration, Igor Sergeyenko, the Chairman of the Central Commission of the Republic of Belarus on Elections and Holding Republican Referenda, Igor Karpenko, Interior Minister Ivan Kubrakov, the Chairman of the Mogilev Regional Executive Committee, Anatoly Isachenko, and the Aide to the President – Inspector for the Mogilev Region, Leonid Martynyuk, in attendance

In his address to those present, Mr. Sergeyenko noted that the country will host a landmark event in virtually two weeks: a referendum on the draft Constitution. “It will crown a year-long work carried out across the country. I will briefly recall its milestones and stages. These include establishment of the constitutional commission, its subsequent work over the proposals coming from different audiences, dialogue platforms, teams, expert communities, and consecutive finalising of the Basic Law. A nationwide discussion then followed; we received about 10,000 diverse proposals as a result of it. Some of them were registered, while the others will be reflected in a range of laws. The stage of the nationwide discussion is over by now, and we are engaged into an active preparatory work at present – meeting with labour teams with an aim of clarifying the provisions of the Constitution and, accordingly, encouraging our people to take an active part in the referendum, to cast their vote for the future of our country,” the Head of the President Administration said.

Mr. Sergeyenko informed on the work that is in full swing at the current stage of the electoral campaign. According to him, 153 territorial and 5,510 precinct commission function in the country, and their internal control is organised by analogy with the previous election campaign: up to 40,000 observers are to work countrywide – supervised by Belarus’ Federation of Trade Unions, as is traditional.

“As seen from the analysis, the number of so-called opponents of the government – running for participation in commissions – has significantly decreased. This is the result of a joint work by law enforcement agencies and ideological structures. A similar situation is also registered now regarding participation of the opposition in precinct commissions as observers,” Mr. Sergeyenko added.

According to the Head of the President Administration, the situation is still complex since destructive forces fail to give up their attempt to take revenge in implementing an unconstitutional change of power, while viewing the referendum as a last chance to take people to the streets. “Attempts are being made by destructive mass media to organise boycotts and damage voting ballots. I would like to state that we are taking all measures to localise these destructive actions,” he stressed.

Mr. Sergeyenko added that a large-scale information campaign is in full swing in the country. Dialogue platforms work and meetings in labour teams are organised. In the period left until the referendum, it is necessary to communicate with those who have been deprived of attention so far, to use the potential of scientists and university lecturers. The Head of the President Administration recalled a number of social polls conducted last year. As seen, the number of citizens willing to participate in the referendum is growing – approaching almost 70 percent. This is not the main source of information, but an activity indicator.

“The analysis of the information that comes to the President Administration indicates that the situation is now calm and manageable, and a consistent work is underway to prepare for the referendum,” Mr. Sergeyenko concluded.

photos: www.belta.by