The new Constitution of Belarus is being prepared in complete secrecy from the people
Constitutional reform is perhaps the most discussed topic in Russia today. The day before yesterday the law on amendments to the Basic Law was approved by the State Duma, and yesterday it was approved by the Federation Council. But not everyone knows that in parallel, Belarus is also undergoing its own constitutional reform.
Just yesterday, the Chairman of the Constitutional Court of the Republic, Pyotr Miklashevich, after announcing the final part of the Constitutional Court’s Address to the President and the chambers of the National Assembly, commented on the work on the new edition of the Belarusian Constitution. He said that the Constitutional Court, which was involved in preparing the amendments, analyzed the constitutions of more than 50 foreign countries, and the changes themselves will be “aimed at social progress, modernization of society and the further dynamic development of our country.”
The words, of course, are beautiful and correct, but, unfortunately, they do not carry any specifics. The Constitutional Court handed over its proposals to a specially created working group under the Presidential Administration, which also remains silent. The composition of this working group, by the way, was also not published anywhere.
The story of constitutional reform in Belarus has already dragged on for quite some time. Lukashenko first announced this a couple of years ago, but in passing, without even hinting at exactly which provisions and in what manner it was planned to change. The next time, he spoke more about the new Constitution, but not much - he only said that it was necessary to strengthen the executive and legislative branches of government and that the Constitutional Court was already working on amendments.
This was a little over a year ago. After this there is silence again. Various lawyers, political scientists and politicians periodically spoke about constitutional reform, conferences and round tables were held. But these were all wishes and assumptions. There was no official information about the proposed innovations.
Let's compare this with the constitutional reform in Russia. On January 15, Putin addressed the Federal Assembly with a message, in which he outlined point by point what changes to the Constitution he proposed to make. A working group of 75 people is immediately created to prepare proposals for amendments. Any citizen can send their proposals to this working group. Of course, the amendments are widely discussed, adjusted, and actions are held, both for and against them. As a result, parliament will vote on the amendments on March 10-11, and on April 22 they will be put to a popular vote.
Despite the openness and democratic nature of the procedure, even here there were some surprises, and the idea of resetting the calculation of presidential terms to zero caused a rather violent reaction in society.
What can we say about Belarus, for whose citizens the surprise will be the new Constitution itself, the draft of which is now being prepared secretly from the people by people unknown to them? During the 25 years of Lukashenko's rule, he changed the Basic Law twice, and both times these changes were accompanied by political crises.
In 1996, when, by rewriting the Constitution, Lukashenko radically strengthened his powers, the matter almost ended with impeachment for him, and Chernomyrdin had to intervene, whose mediation may have prevented a civil war in the republic. In 2004, when he lifted restrictions on the number of presidential terms, things were also restless in Minsk.
Belarus needs constitutional reform. Today's political system, focused on one person, can be extremely unstable during the process of changing power. Judging by Lukashenko’s statements last year, he also understands this, and one of the goals of the reform will be to provide a soft transit option. But these are just guesses. And what else will happen there is known only by Lukashenko himself and several dozen people close to him and developers.
Yes, now the Belarusian opposition practically does not pay attention to constitutional reform. She is busy with internal squabbles and the fight against “Russian expansion.” But economic, and, following it, political turbulence in the republic is growing. And there is no guarantee that society will not explode when a new Constitution with provisions that no one expected or wanted hits it out of the blue.
Still, it is better to prepare such things as constitutional reform openly and consult with the people about how they should live.
English version :: Read in English The new Constitution of Belarus is being prepared in complete secrecy from the people.