Belarusians are offered a very exotic and explosive constitution
There is only half a month left until the All-Belarusian Assembly, at which, if not a draft of a new Constitution, then the main directions of constitutional reform will be presented, the main directions of constitutional reform will be announced.
However, despite this and the announced “dialogue”, plans to reshape the political system of Belarus still remain a sealed secret.
It is very likely that the veil of this secret was lifted by a document called “Improving public policy and expanding opportunities for citizens to participate in political life,” which is now being actively discussed in the Belarusian segment of the Internet and is a set of recommendations for constitutional reform and political transformation in general.
The authorship and dating of the document are unknown for certain. The Belarusian Institute of Strategic Studies, a state think tank that was credited with authorship, disowned the document. It doesn’t look like a fake either - the Belarusian oppositionists simply wouldn’t have thought of some of the things that are written there. Most likely, this is another leak of insider information, and such a document is indeed circulating or has recently circulated through the power corridors of Minsk.
The text was written no earlier than December last year, when Lukashenko began to actively promote the idea of making the All-Belarusian Assembly a constitutional body with very broad powers. Then, having received a negative reaction, he stopped promoting this idea, but it’s not a fact that he refused.
The theme of the All-Belarusian Assembly in the document is one of the key ones. It is not only supposed to be made a “representative and constituent body of power”, which, without being directly elected by the population, will be endowed with the right to represent the interests of the population and make decisions on its behalf on the most important issues of state life and state building.
It is difficult to say what is behind this formulation, but it looks scary. One of the powers that they want to give to this body is to approve the final results of the presidential elections. In their opinion, this will enhance and provide institutional legitimacy to the winner of the electoral process. The logic is strange. The legitimacy of elections is ensured by their fair and transparent conduct, and not by 2-3 thousand appointed “nodders” gathered on this occasion in the Palace of the Republic.
The logic of proposals to reform the party system is no less strange. It is planned to radically update the legislation on parties, strengthen their role, even introduce a mixed electoral system, but at the same time the requirements for parties will be seriously increased - the party will have to have registered structures in all regions and in no less than 2/3 of the districts, and citizens with citizenship or residence permit of other countries, for some reason it is proposed to prohibit joining parties.
The mixed electoral system is also proposed with a catch. Even a single-mandate candidate running by collecting signatures must be a member of a party. Illogical, exotic, but the motives are clear. The cleansing of the party system is already underway. Right now, with the support of the Ministry of Justice and state media, the only consistently pro-Russian Republican Party of Labor and Justice is being taken over.
Throughout his reign, Lukashenko did not strive to develop the party system, but, on the contrary, restrained its development. Over the past 20 years, not a single new batch has been registered. Now there are 15 of them left, and after tightening the requirements, 2-3 parties may remain, each of which will be controlled by Lukashenko. Thus, apparent democratization will result in an even greater suppression of dissent, and Lukashenko’s real opponents will lose even the theoretical opportunity to be elected to parliament and local councils.
There are other exotic proposals in the document. For example, the Constitutional Court will take work away from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and comment on foreign regulations affecting the interests of Belarus. Another exotic innovation is the “control branch of government,” which is the name given to the State Control Committee, something between the Accounts Chamber and the intelligence service.
Many commentators, speaking about this document, mention the abolition of the death penalty, but this is nothing more than a nod to the West and liberals. This cancellation will definitely not have a serious impact on political processes in Belarus.
Of course, the document is not final and much of what is written there can be revised. But it gives an idea of the direction in which the balls and rollers are spinning in the control heads. But if they try to stuff something like this into the Constitution, the referendum on its adoption will become no less a test of strength for Lukashenko than the elections on August 9.
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