{"id":11308,"date":"2021-12-18T21:35:53","date_gmt":"2021-12-18T18:35:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/api.pozirk.online\/longreads\/lukasenka-may-not-assume-new-powers-under-constitution-adopted-at-referendum\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T20:29:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T20:29:13","slug":"lukasenka-may-not-assume-new-powers-under-constitution-adopted-at-referendum","status":"publish","type":"longreads","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11308\/","title":{"rendered":"Luka\u0161enka may not assume new powers under constitution adopted at referendum"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n <span>By Valieryj Karbalievi\u010d <\/span>\n<\/p>\n<p> <span> <\/span><\/p>\n<p>\n <b>Aliaksandr Luka\u0161enka undecided about an early presidential election.<\/b>\n<\/p>\n<h2> <span>Recent remarks on elections<\/span> <\/h2>\n<p>\n\t After appointing Ihar Karpienka as head of the central election commission, the Belarusian leader said on December 13: \u201cThen [after the referendum] we will have a single voting day for the first time in history to elect our soviets [councils] and the legislature, the parliament. And, of course, the presidential election. It seems to be a distant prospect, but it is not so distant. Everything will depend on the situation that will develop in our country.\u201d\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t The next local and parliamentary elections are scheduled for 2023. Definitely, the presidential race will not be held earlier.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t At his meeting with Viciebsk region officials on December 15, Luka\u0161enka said that he had changed his mind on a new presidential election for fear of social unrest.\n<\/p>\n<h2> <span>Will Luka\u0161enka limit his powers?<\/span> <\/h2>\n<p>\n\t Luka\u0161enka seems set to see out his current term that runs until mid 2025. The central election commission\u2019s calendar indicates that the next presidential election is to be held no later than 20 July 2025. It is unclear whether he has made the final decision.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t If he has decided against holding an early election, a new constitution, if adopted at a referendum in late February, would limit his powers and may create legal and political problems.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t He said that the new constitution was being tailored for a new president. It is expected to annul his right to rule by decree. It would be very uncharacteristic of Luka\u0161enka to limit his own powers. He has always sought more powers throughout his career.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t If Luka\u0161enka remains in office and takes over as chairman of the All-Belarusian People\u2019s Assembly, it is unclear why he needs this complicated combination.\n<\/p>\n<h2> <span>Constitution to take effect after 2025 election?<\/span> <\/h2>\n<p>\n\t The adoption of constitutional provisions concerning the powers of the president and other branches might be delayed until after the 2025 presidential election. That might create legal and political uncertainty.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Why would Luka\u0161enka need to hold the referendum in 2022 then? It would be more sensible to hold it in 2025 shortly before the presidential race.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t If Luka\u0161enka decides against an early presidential election, the February referendum would not make any sense.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t On the other hand, the Belarusians have got used to many things that do not make sense. The referendum without an early presidential election would hardly come as a surprise to them.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t &nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Valieryj Karbalievi\u010d Aliaksandr Luka\u0161enka undecided about an early presidential election. Recent remarks on elections After appointing Ihar Karpienka as head of the central election commission, the Belarusian leader said on December 13: \u201cThen [after the referendum] we will have a single voting day for the first time in history to elect our soviets [councils] [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":0,"template":"","rubric":[22],"class_list":["post-11308","longreads","type-longreads","status-publish","hentry","rubric-theviewer"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Luka\u0161enka may not assume new powers under constitution adopted at referendum | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"By Valieryj Karbalievi\u010d Aliaksandr Luka\u0161enka undecided about an early presidential election. 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