Posted:
16.02.2022 16:58:00
Updating the Constitution
The Draft Basic Law incorporates the best and most relevant, while at the same time designed for the future perspective
There are 10 days left before the main political event of the year and less than a week before the start of early voting, which is traditionally used by part of the country’s population. More than 50 responses and opinions reflected in the pages of our newspaper leaves no doubt: Belarusians are fully aware, of not only the political importance, but also the historical significance of the upcoming referendum. Therefore, today we will look back and recall which proposals by citizens are taken into account in the draft Constitution, submitted for a referendum, and which have so far been recognised as inappropriate.
“I decided to go for a large-scale discussion of the proposed amendments in order to get feedback, an opinion of experts, company executives, ordinary people, including civil servants, labour collectives and organisations. I have been told that the proposed amendments raised keen interest. The very process of the constitutional reform and the forthcoming referendum is of interest to the public. People from all walks of life got involved in the dialogue.”
(January 18th, 2022 during a meeting following the nationwide discussion of the draft amendments to the Constitution.)
Important highlights
• In article 18 of the draft, it was decided to retain the provision on the exclusion of military aggression from its territory against other states. This provision consolidates the status of Belarus as a country adhering to a peaceful foreign policy.
• The deletion of the neutrality clause should be considered in the same context. In times of growing geopolitical confrontation, which is of a long-term sustainable nature, it has become obvious that achieving a neutral political status in the short term is unrealistic.
• The provision on the non-nuclear status of our country has been excluded. In the light of the commissioning of the Belarusian NPP, the planned further active development of nuclear energy, this item has lost its relevance.
• There was a proposal to formulate article 24, which enshrines the right to life, as follows: ‘Abolish the death penalty or introduce a moratorium and replace it with life imprisonment’. However, the majority of the population does not share this idea: according to a large-scale opinion poll conducted at the end of 2021 among more than ten thousand employees of enterprises, institutions, and organisations, only about seven percent support the abolition of the death penalty.
• It is decided that article 32, which defines marriage as the union of a woman and a man, should not be specified with the wording ‘by birth’. There is a position of the legal and medical community, according to which in our country citizens who have proven the need to change their sex for relevant medical reasons have the right to do so. Such surgeries are exceptional, with only 22 surgeries performed in five years.
During the nationwide discussion, the text of the draft Constitution
(from December 27th, 2021 to January 20th, 2022):
• was viewed 227,044 times on the National Legal Internet Portal
• was downloaded 10,189 times for viewing on mobile devices
The content of the draft caused:
• 8,919 opinions and suggestions
Thematic blocks around which the generalised additions and changes made to the Constitution are grouped:
• preservation of the identity of the Belarusian people,
its value matrix and historical memory
• preservation and development
of the foundations of the welfare state
• formation of a socially responsible society
• ensuring political stability
in the conditions of development
of the political system and its institutions
• creation of constitutional guarantees of social and technological
development for the benefit of people, society, and the state
Polling station opening hours:
Early voting — from 22nd to 26th February
Voting on referendum day — 27th February
The referendum is held by universal, free, equal, and secret ballot
• Citizens of Belarus who have reached 18 years of age have the right to participate
in the referendum
• Each referendum participant votes in person
For the referendum there is only one question :
‘Do you accept amendments and additions
to the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus?’
More than 100 international observers accredited to monitor the referendum
The CIS observation mission consists of 92 observers, of them 14 observers were sent by the CIS Inter-Parliamentary Assembly and 8 observers were accredited by the central election commissions of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Russia, and Tajikistan, moreover, 1 observer was sent by the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).
Domestic observation is organised similarly to the previous election campaign. Up to 40,000 people with a reserve will work as observers during the Nationwide referendum. They will be traditionally coordinated by the Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus. The process of sending observers is still ongoing.
First cases of threats against members of election commissions registered in Belarus
The first cases of threats against members of election commissions have been registered in Belarus — as BelTA was reported by the Central Election Commission (CEC)The police officers are conducting an investigation.
“We already went through this in 2020, when members of polling stations, ordinary teachers, doctors, and labour teams received threatening messages. The actions of our western opponents during this electoral campaign were quite expected. It was just a matter of time when they will start to cross the red line and run into the same trap. All these threats are sent with one aim: to put psychological pressure on the members of the election commissions and prevent free expression of citizens’ will during the voting in the referendum,” said CEC Chairman Igor Karpenko.
By Maksim Osipov
