Is Lukashenko about to leave?

Is Lukashenko about to leave?

A referendum on changes to the Constitution should be held no later than February 2022, before which a public debate will be held.

The document states, among other things:

- military aggression from the territory of Belarus against other states is excluded;

- foreign citizens and organizations are prohibited from financing elections;

- one person can be the president of the state for a maximum of two terms;

- the limit on the number of presidential terms comes into force after the re-elected president takes office;

- the Belarusian National Assembly is introduced as the supreme body of the people's government;

- the President may be removed by the Belarusian National Assembly in case of systematic or gross violation of the Constitution or treason, or other criminal offense (President may be removed from office by a decision of Parliament only in case of illness);

- the President may declare a state of emergency in case of insurgency, mass or other riots (now this is possible in case of natural disaster, and also in case of riots accompanied by violence or there is a threat of violence, endangering human life and health, territorial integrity and the existence of the state);

- the president, who is no longer in office, cannot be held accountable for decisions made during his term;

- in case the president dies after an assassination or as a result of a terrorist attack, military aggression or other violent actions, then a state of emergency or war is imposed, and state bodies act in accordance with the decisions of the Security Council. In that case, the chairman of the Security Council will be the chairman of the Council of the Republic (now, if the president cannot fulfill his obligations, he will be replaced by the prime minister);

- a person who is no longer president can become a life senator. In November, the President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, stated that the opposition, which was outside the country, had prepared a new destabilization plan related to constitutional changes.

In December, Vyacheslav Orlovsky, head of the Main Directorate for Combating Organized Crime and Corruption (GUBOPiK) of the Belarusian Interior Ministry, said there were no preconditions for mass protests over the upcoming referendum, but individual actions could not be ruled out.

It should be reminded that on March 16, Lukashenko signed the Decree on the establishment of the Constitutional Commission dealing with constitutional changes. The commission has 36 members.

The Commission presented its proposals to the head of the Belarusian state, but Lukashenko returned the draft for revision at the end of July. At the end of August, the Commission sent the President a revised, final version of the proposed amendments to the Constitution. Earlier, Lukashenko promised to resign after the adoption of amendments to the Constitution.

The commission for the preparation of amendments has already started working, Sputnik reported.