Solemn ceremony to sign the Decision of the national constitutional referendum

Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko signed the Decision of the national constitutional referendum at a solemn ceremony at the Palace of Independence on 4 March.

More than a thousand people were invited to attend the event at the Palace of Independence. Among them were high-ranking officials, members of the government, representatives of various ministries and departments, the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court, delegations from the regions and the city of Minsk, experts and members of the public.

According to the head of state, a new page has been added to the history of sovereign Belarus. A nationwide referendum took place on 27 February 2022. An absolute majority of citizens supported the proposed constitutional amendments.

“This means that the event will go down in the textbooks as another milestone in the development of a sovereign country. It is very symbolic that the updated Basic Law will enter into force on 15 March, the Constitution Day,” said Aleksandr Lukashenko.

“The people of Belarus have made their choice, a choice in favor of evolutionary transformations of the political system, democratically, in accordance with Belarusian laws. The people have shown wisdom and national maturity,” the President noted.

Aleksandr Lukashenko said that amidst a tense international situation and threats to the traditional way of life, people took a serious step towards strengthening the country’s sovereignty.

“They made this choice relying on their own experience of constitutional reform, protecting centuries-old values of the Belarusian people, the people who chose peace and creation and strengthening of the foundations of our statehood at every turning point in their history,” the head of state stressed.

According to Aleksandr Lukashenko, this is also evidenced by the results of previous referendums. “We have achieved a lot with the Constitution that we wrote and improved at the dawn of sovereign Belarus,” the President stated.

Aleksandr Lukashenko said: “You know lawyers say that the Constitution is a pact between the government and the people. Absolutely right. This Constitution reflects the main hopes and desires of our nation. But frankly speaking, if we stopped at desires and hopes of only our society and our nation, we would slow down our development at best. This is why any government, which is described as the elite of the society, has to be slightly ahead of the people and show the way the people and the government should move along. And to accomplish that, it is necessary to look slightly forward, beyond the horizon.”

The President remarked that the world history is measured in periods and Belarus registered the moment of successive transition to a new level of development of the society and the political system in time. “The large-scale and passionate nationwide discussion of amendments to the Constitution confirms this point. Belarusians were active, argued a lot, and felt stressed. In other words, there were no indifferent people!” he stated.

Aleksandr Lukashenko noted: “We’ve accomplished a lot with the Constitution we wrote and perfected at the dawn of establishment of sovereign Belarus.” In his words, work on amending the Constitution represents the establishment of a sovereign and independent state for the first time in the history of the Belarusian nation.

The President stressed that a balanced and effective power vertical had been created virtually from scratch against the background of most complicated geopolitical transformations of the world. “Taking into account the societal demand we established new bodies, phased out outdated institutions, and optimized the state administration system more than once,” he added.

Aleksandr Lukashenko pointed out that within a short period of time the state managed to establish diplomatic and trade relations and reinforce defense, on which calm and safe life depends in conditions of unprecedented foreign pressure on Belarus.

The head of state stressed: “Our country is an initiator and active participant of Eurasian economic integration, the Collective Security Treaty Organization, and other interstate formations. Today we improve our union with Russia on equal terms and have a dialogue with international partners. We maintain a solid stance in matters of sovereignty and security.”

Aleksandr Lukashenko stated that honest and profitable terms for doing business had been offered to investors and Belarusian private companies. A number of zones with special preferential terms have been created and operate in Belarus. Businessmen can calmly do business in an honest manner with responsibility before the state and the nation, he assured.

“The institution of the family as a value as well as children, youth, the elderly, and the disabled enjoy special care of the state,” the Belarusian leader stated.

Aleksandr Lukashenko pointed out that all of it represents the unshakable foundation of Belarusian statehood built by hands of citizens. “And the norms that have been working effectively up till now remain on pages of the updated Constitution. We helped the elderly, people with reduced capabilities, and large families. We will always do it. They may rest assured we will not abandon this policy after adopting the new Constitution. But it is time to look beyond the horizon,” he remarked.