CEC: Belarusian People's Congress will determine strategic course for society, state

The Central Election Commission focused on the issues regarding the conduct of the Belarusian People's Congress.

"The first ever Belarusian People's Congress was held in Belarus in 1996. Then the president initiated a discussion of topical problems of the country's development in the format of a people's assembly. Almost 5,000 people were delegated by labor collectives and citizens. The congress adopted a program of the country’s social and economic development for 1996-2000 and approved the initiative to hold a national referendum. Every five years, the people's congress was convened to assess the performance of the government over the past five years and determine the main parameters of the state's development, work out a plan for the country’s economic and social development for the following five years. In total, six editions of the All Belarusian People's Congress have been held in the history of sovereign Belarus," Igor Karpenko said.

He recalled that by the decision of the national referendum held on 27 February 2022, the Belarusian People's Congress was given a constitutional status. "The Constitution of the Republic of Belarus has been supplemented with a chapter that defines the Belarusian People's Congress as the supreme representative body of democracy which will determine the strategic development of society and the state, ensure the inviolability of the constitutional order, the continuity of generations and civil harmony. The constitution defines who is a delegate of the Belarusian People's Congress, establishes their maximum number and term of office," he said.

"Thus, for the first time in our country, the Belarusian People's Congress will act as a constitutional body," Igor Karpenko stressed. “In addition to the Constitution, the law on the Belarusian People's Congress and the Electoral Code of the Republic of Belarus, which regulates the election of delegates to the Belarusian People's Congress from local councils of deputies and civil society, also serve as the legislative framework for the formation of the Belarusian People's Congress. In this regard, the Central Election Commission has been endowed with a number of new powers. The CEC calls the election of delegates to the Belarusian People's Congress, determines the  representation of delegates from the local councils of deputies of every region, the equal number of delegates from every civil society entity, convenes and chairs the first meeting of the Belarusian People's Congress until its chairman is elected. In fact, the current CEC implements the legislative norms in practice and builds a system of interaction between the government bodies and civil society in the process of formation of the Belarusian People's Congress.”