Bill on president's activities passes second reading in Belarusian parliament

The bill on amendments to the law “On the President of the Republic of Belarus” passed the second reading at a sitting of the tenth session of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus of the seventh convocation on 22 December, BelTA has learned.

The bill contains provisions aimed at fixing the constitutional requirements for a candidate for the post of President, clarifying the legal status of the President, optimizing the powers of the head of state, including the protection of state sovereignty, national security and territorial integrity of Belarus, ensuring the functioning of the highest judicial bodies and the Central Election Commission, appeal to the Constitutional Court.

The draft law also enshrines the legal status of the President who ceases to exercise his/her powers due to the expiration of his/her term in office or prematurely in case of his/her resignation or persistent inability to fulfill his/her duties due to health reasons, as well as the establishment of guarantees for him/her and his/her family members.

The bill has been drafted with a view to bringing the norms of the law “On the President of the Republic of Belarus” in line with the amendments and additions to the Constitution adopted at the nationwide referendum on 27 February 2022.

It also stipulates harmonization of the law “On the President of the Republic of Belarus” with the norms of the Electoral Code, the Code on the Judiciary and the Status of Judges, the laws “On the Status of the MP of the House of Representatives, Member of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus”, “On the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus”, “On the Belarusian People's Congress”, “On Civil Service”, “On Constitutional Court Procedure”.