Constitution of Belarus was adopted 19 years ago
Today, Belarus
celebrates a national holiday, Constitution Day.
Nineteen
years ago, on 15 March 1994, the Supreme Soviet of Belarus adopted a
constitution that introduced the country's presidential form of
government. During the same year there passed the first-ever
presidential election, won by Aliaksandr Lukashenka.
At the
national referendum of 24 November 1996, initiated by Lukashenka, the
Basic Law was amended and supplemented, as a result of which the
countdown of Luashenka's five-year term in office began again, and
the Supreme Soviet was transformed into a bicameral parliament –
the National Assembly.
The President received the right to
appoint six judges to the Constitutional Court and the Central
Commission for Elections and Referenda.
Some of the amendments
also concerned the powers of the Constitutional Court: the number of
institutions possessing the right to initiate proceedings at the
Constitutional Court was confined to the President, the government,
the chambers of the Parliament, the Supreme Court and the Supreme
Economic Court. At the same time, the Constitutional Court was
deprived of the right to make any conclusions on its own initiative.
On 17 October 2004 there was held another referendum, as a
result of which the restriction on the number of successive
presidential terms was removed from the Constitution.
Opposition
members believe that all of these changes in the fundamental law were
initiated by Lukashenka for one purpose – to establish
authoritarian rule in the country.
"In 1996, a coup was
factually committed by the organizers of the referendum", says
the first judge of the Constitutional Court Mikhail Pastukhou. "The
Constitutional Court stated by the majority of votes that itw was
inadmissible to put to an obligatory referendum the question of
amendment of the Constitution, which was equal to the adoption of a
new Constitution, and that the results of the referendum could be
considered only as recommendative. Nevertheless, Lukashenka disagreed
with it and issued a decree for holding an obligatory referendum".
The leader of "Tell the truth" Uladzimir
Niakliayeu, a presidential candidate in the 2010 election, says that
the president should not have excessive powers.
"I
remember Lukashenka's statements that additional powers of the
president were needed only for the period of instability, a difficult
economic situation. But now he says that the country is stable, like
no other. Hence, there is no more need in the constitutional changes
that have been introduced by the referendum," commented the
politician.