Belarus’s authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko has proposed changes to the constitution that would grant the president legal immunity and limit the president’s term of office, as well as redistribute constitutional powers and strengthen the role of the Belarusian People’s Assembly.
Lukashenko said that a referendum would be held in February 2022 on the changes, which were first announced today by the Belarusian state news agency BelTA.
His opponents see the attempt to amend the constitution as a maneuver to help Lukashenko stay in power.
The proposed amendments prohibit the election of the president from anyone who has temporarily left the country, and these changes appear to be aimed directly at members of the opposition who are no longer in Belarus.
One of the proposals is to replace the article in the constitution stating that the state is neutral with an article stating that the government must not initiate military aggression.
“The President shall be directly elected by the people of Belarus for a term of five years, on the basis of universal, free, equal and direct suffrage. One person cannot be president for more than two terms, ”Lukashenko said.
Lukashenko is currently in the presidency for the sixth consecutive term. His proposals do not say whether he will be allowed to run for president again.
As Lukashenko’s supporters dominate the Belarusian parliament, experts question whether the amendments to the constitution will bring about any real change.
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