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The rights, duties and the status of the President of the Republic of Belarus are laid down in the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus of 1994 with alterations and addenda adopted at the republican referendum. Given below are the abstracts from this document which create a complete picture of the character and peculiarities of the office of the President of the Republic of Belarus.
The abstracts from the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus
The abstracts from the Constitution
Article 79.
- The President of the Republic of Belarus shall be the Head of State, the guarantor of the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus, the rights and liberties of man and citizen.
- The President shall personify the unity of the nation, the implementation of the main guidelines of the domestic and foreign policy, shall represent the State in the relations with other states and international organizations. The President shall provide the protection of the sovereignty of the Republic of Belarus, its national security and territorial integrity, shall ensure its political and economic stability, continuity and interaction of bodies of state power, shall maintain the intermediation among the bodies of state power.
- The President shall enjoy immunity, and his honour and dignity shall be protected by the law.
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Article 80.
Any citizen of the Republic of Belarus by birth at least 35 years of age who is eligible to vote and has been resident in the Republic of Belarus for at least ten years to the elections may be elected President.
Article 81.
- The President shall be elected directly by the people of the Republic of Belarus for a term of office of five years by universal, free, equal, direct and secret ballot. The same person may be President for no more than two terms.
- Presidential candidates shall be nominated by citizens of the Republic of Belarus where the signatures of no less than 100,000 voters have been collected.
- Presidential elections shall be called by the House of Representatives no later than five months and shall be conducted no later than two months prior to the expire of the term of office of the previous President.
- Where the office of the President becomes vacant, elections shall be held no sooner than 30 days and no later than 70 days, from the day on which the office fell vacant.
Article 82.
- The elections shall be deemed to have taken place where over half the citizens of the Republic of Belarus on the electoral roll have taken part in the poll.
- The President shall be deemed elected where over half the citizens of the Republic of Belarus who took part in the poll voted for him.
- Where no candidate polls the requisite number of votes, within two weeks a second round of voting shall be conducted between the two candidates who obtained the largest number of votes. The presidential candidate who obtains more than half the votes of those who took part in the second poll shall be deemed to be elected.
- The procedure governing the conduct of presidential elections shall be determined by the law of the Republic of Belarus.
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Article 83.
The President shall assume office after taking the following Oath: "Assuming the office of President of the Republic of Belarus, I solemnly swear to faithfully serve the people of the Republic of Belarus, to respect and safeguard the rights and liberties of man and citizen, to abide by and protect the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus, and to discharge strictly and conscientiously the lofty duties that have been bestowed upon me".
The Oath shall be administered in a ceremonial setting attended by members of the House of Representatives and the Council of the Republic, the judges of the Constitutional, Supreme and Economic Courts no later than two months from the day on which the President is elected. The powers of the previous President shall terminate the moment the President-elect takes the Oath.
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Article 84.
The President of the Republic of Belarus shall:
1) call national referenda;
2) call regular and extraordinary elections to the House of Representatives, the Council of the Republic and local representative bodies;
3) dissolve the chambers of the Parliament to the order and instances determined by the Constitution;
4) appoint six members of the Central Commission of the Republic of Belarus on Elections and National Referenda;
5) form, dissolve and reorganize the Administration of the President of the Republic of Belarus, other bodies of state administration, as well as consultative advisory councils, other bodies attached to the Presidency;
6) appoint the Prime minister of the Republic of Belarus with the consent of the House of Representatives;
7) determine the structure of the Government of the Republic of Belarus, appoint and dismiss the deputy Prime ministers, ministers and other members of the Government, take the decision on the resignation of the Government, or any of its members;
8) appoint with the consent of the Council of the Republic the Chairperson of the Constitutional, Supreme and Economic Courts from among the judges of these courts;
9) appoint with the consent of the Council of the Republic the judges of the Supreme and Economic Courts, Chairperson of the Central Commission of the Republic of Belarus on Elections and National Referenda, the Procurator-General, the Chairperson and members of the Governing Board of the National Bank;
10) appoint six members of the Constitutional Court, and other judges of the Republic of Belarus;
11) dismiss the Chairperson and judges of the Constitutional, Supreme and Economic Courts, the Chairperson of the Central Commission of the Republic of Belarus on Elections and National Referenda, the Procurator-General, the Chair-person and members of the Board of the National Bank to the order and instances determined by the law and to the notification of the Council of the Republic;
12) appoint and dismiss the Chairperson of the State Supervisory Committee;
13) deliver messages to the people of the Republic of Belarus on the state of the nation and on the guidelines of the domestic and foreign policy;
14) deliver annual messages to the Parliament which are not open to discussion at the sittings of the House of Representatives and Council of the Republic; have the right to participate in the sessions of Parliament and its bodies; deliver speeches and addresses to Parliament at any requested time;
15) have the right to chair the meetings of the Government of the Republic of Belarus;
16) appoint leading officials of bodies of state administration and determine their status; appoint official representatives of the President in the Parliament and other officials whose offices are determined by the law, unless otherwise specified in the Constitution;
17) resolve issues regarding the granting of citizenship of the Republic of Belarus, the termination thereof and the granting of asylum;
18) institute state holidays and red-letter days, bestow state awards, ranks and titles;
19) grant pardons to convicted citizens;
20) conduct negotiations and sign international treaties, appoint and recall diplomatic representatives of the Republic of Belarus in foreign countries and at international organizations;
21) receive the credentials and letters of recall of the accredited diplomatic representatives of foreign countries;
22) in the event of a natural disaster, a catastrophe, or unrest involving violence or the threat of violence on the part of a group of persons or organizations that endangers peoples lives and health or jeopardizes the territorial integrity and existence of the State, declare a state of emergency in the territory of the Republic of Belarus or in specific areas thereof and submit the decision to the Council of the Republic for approval within three days;
23) have the right, in instances specified in the law, to defer a strike or suspend it for a period not exceeding three months;
24) sign bills and have the right to the order determined by the Constitution to return it or some of its provisions with the objections to the House of Representatives;
25) have the right to abolish acts of the Government;
26) exercise supervision directly or through specially formed bodies of observance of laws by local organs of administration or self-government and have the right to suspend decisions of local councils of deputies, or abolish decisions of local executive and administrative bodies where they do not conform to the requirements of the law;
27) form and head the Security Council of the Republic of Belarus, and appoint and dismiss the State Secretary of the Security Council;
28) be the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus; appoint and dismiss the Supreme Command of the Armed Forces;
29) impose, in the event of military threat or attack, martial law in the territory of the Republic of Belarus and announce general or partial mobilization with the submission within 3 days of the taken decision for approval of the Council of the Republic;
30) exercise other powers entrusted to him by the Constitution and the laws.
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Article 85.
- The President shall issue decrees and orders on the basis and in accordance with the Constitution which are mandatory in the territory of the Republic of Belarus.
- In instances determined by the Constitution, the President shall issue decrees which have the force of the law. The President shall ensure directly or through specially formed bodies the execution of the decrees, orders and instructions.
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Article 86.
- The President may not hold other offices or receive any monetary remuneration other than his salary, apart from royalties for works of science, literature and art.
- The President shall suspend his membership of political parties and other public associations that pursue political goals during the whole term in office.
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Article 87.
The President may tender his resignation at any time. The President's resignation shall be accepted by the House of Representatives.
Article 88.
- The President of the Republic of Belarus may be prematurely removed from office where he is persistently incapable to discharge his duties on account of the state of his health. The issue of removing the President shall be taken by a resolution of the House of Representatives adopted by a majority of no less than two-thirds of the elected deputies as determined by the Constitution and a majority of no less than two-thirds of the full composition as determined by the Constitution of the Council of the Republic on the basis of the findings of an ad hoc Commission formed by the Chambers of the Parliament.
- The President may be removed from office for acts of state treason and other grave crimes. The decision to file a charge against the President shall be supported by a majority of the whole House of Representatives on behalf of no less than one-third of the number of deputies. The investigation of the charge shall be exercised by the Council of the Republic. The President shall be deemed to be removed from office if the decision is adopted by no less than two-thirds of the full composition of the Council of the Republic, and no less than two-thirds of the full House of Representatives.
- The failure of the Council of the Republic and House of Representatives to take a decision to remove the President from office within a month since it was initiated shall make the move invalid. The move to remove the President from office may not be initiated in accordance with the provision of the Constitution in the course of the hearings on the premature termination of the powers of Parliament.
- Where the President is removed in connection with the commission of a crime, the case shall be examined on the merits of the charge by the Supreme Court.
Article 89.
Whether the office of President falls vacant or the President is unable to discharge his duties to the order as determined by the Constitution, his power shall be transferred to the Prime Minister until the President-elect is sworn in. | 
Head of State