Amendments
After Lukashenko assumed the presidency in 1994, he stated his intention to amend the recently-passed Constitution. The amendments, according to Lukashenko, would expand the power of his office, marking a turning point in post-Soviet era politics in Belarus. A May 1995 national referendum was the first step in the amendment process. Out of the four questions, one asked if the president could disband parliament if the members violate national law. The vote, which several Supreme Soviet deputies protested, resulted in 77% in favor of the provision regarding the dismissal of the legislature by the president. Other questions on the ballot, such as the national flag and national emblem, didn't affect the Constitution as a whole, but their status has been decided by the Constitution. Two years later, Lukashenko scheduled the first referendum that would potentially alter the Constitution. The last referendum on the Constitution occurred in 2004, also scheduled by Lukashenko.
Read more about this topic: Constitution Of Belarus
Famous quotes containing the word amendments:
“Both of us felt more anxiety about the South—about the colored people especially—than about anything else sinister in the result. My hope of a sound currency will somehow be realized; civil service reform will be delayed; but the great injury is in the South. There the Amendments will be nullified, disorder will continue, prosperity to both whites and colored people will be pushed off for years.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)