Draft laws on amending the Electoral Code and on the All-Belarusian People's Assembly have been submitted for public discussion

  Your comments and proposals on the two draft laws can be expressed in a special thread on the Legal Forum of Belarus from October 24 to November 2, 2022.

 Since October 25, dialogue platforms have been held in organizations and work collectives of the Liozno district to discuss draft laws on amendments to the Electoral Code and on the All-Belarusian People's Assembly. For more information on these informational events, please read on our website in the "District News" section, as well as on social networks "Liozno District Executive Committee" (VKontakte) and "Liozno. Official" (Telegram channel).

 
Figures and facts about the All-Belarusian People's Assembly

Who and How Can Become a Delegate to the All-Belarusian People's Congress? The Bill's Developer, Chairperson of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Legislation Svetlana Lyubetskaya, Explained Who and How Can Become a Delegate If the Bill is Adopted.

 According to Svetlana Lyubetskaya, three main tasks were addressed during the preparation of the bill on the All-Belarusian People's Congress: 

 "The first is to establish a mechanism for forming the All-Belarusian People's Congress that would ensure, on the one hand, the authority, professionalism, and effectiveness of the delegates' work, and on the other hand, the legitimacy of the congress, i.e., the recognition of the decisions made by the congress by society, through the representation of delegates from all branches of power, from local councils of deputies, and from civil society." The procedure for electing delegates from local councils of deputies and civil society should be as simple as possible, excluding complex multi-stage procedures, so as not to involve the Central Election Commission and courts in considering complaints unnecessarily, the deputy noted. At the stage of the Constitutional Commission's work, an approach was determined – not to turn the formation of the All-Belarusian People's Congress into another electoral campaign. 

  "The second task is to determine the procedure for exercising the specific constitutional powers of the All-Belarusian People's Congress, by establishing in law the consideration of decisions that are crucial for the country, ranging from initiating republican referendums to declaring and introducing a state of emergency or martial law," Svetlana Lyubetskaya continued.

 - The third task is to form a compact structure of the bodies of the All-Belarusian People's Congress, to clearly define the powers of the chairman, the functions of the presidium, so that they do not overlap with the competence of the congress and do not substitute it." One of the most discussed issues was the formation of the All-Belarusian People's Congress. The draft law stipulates that, based on such principles of the All-Belarusian People's Congress as people's power and democracy, the congress will be formed on a parity basis. One part will consist of ex officio delegates: the current President and the President who has ceased to exercise his powers, representatives of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. A total of 440 delegates. The next part will be representatives of local councils of deputies: delegates elected by regional councils of deputies from among deputies of local councils of the regional, basic, and primary levels, and all deputies of the Minsk City Council. The norm of representation from local councils of deputies will be determined by the Central Election Commission based on the number of voters residing in the territory of the respective region. A maximum of 350 people in this category. Another part of the delegates will be representatives of civil society.

 "They will be elected by the supreme bodies of civil society entities from among their members, ensuring representation from each region and Minsk. At the same time, the organizational structures of each civil society entity will have the right to nominate candidates," said the deputy. A simple and fair principle of election is proposed - an equal number of delegates from each civil society entity. The maximum number of delegates in this category is 400 people.

  As Svetlana Lyubetskaya explained to journalists after the meeting, the Constitution defines the maximum number of delegates to the All-Belarusian People's Congress as no more than 1.2 thousand people. At the same time, she recommended not to focus on mathematical calculations of the exact number of delegates, but to pay attention to the parity principle of forming the composition of the All-Belarusian People's Congress, which allows for the consideration of the interests of various segments of the population and ensures their fair representation. "The number of delegates at the time of the formation of the All-Belarusian People's Congress will depend on the number of delegates nominated by local councils of deputies, the House of Representatives, as well as how many will be elected by civil society - this is their prerogative. This is an element of people's democracy, a unique experience in the history of our legal thought, that civil society entities will directly nominate their representatives to the supreme representative body that will make state decisions," said the deputy. As for determining which organizations, societies, and other structures will be considered civil society entities, this will be specified in another bill - on the foundations of civil society, which has now been prepared and will be submitted to the House of Representatives.