Small Constitution – Big Plans

The recent (June, 22) issue of Nasha Niva analyzes the “Small Constitution” prepared by the experts working with the democratic opposition. It was approved by the Congress of Democratic Forces about a month ago. Now, Nasha Niva scrutinizes this document, which might play an important role in the future. It is expected, that Belarus will function according to this provisional set of rules in the period of its transition from the authoritarian regime to democracy.

How do democrats see the future shape of the Belarusian state?

The major changes will affect the division of powers and the local self-governing.

Today, the executive power (the president) has most of the authority. In the future, the president will loose a great deal of it. However, the idea to completely get rid of the position of the president was not approved. The experts assumed, based on the experience of other countries in transition that having a president is important to consolidate the society. However, the president should completely loose his present right for the legislative leadership.

The Belarusian parliament, formerly called “the Supreme Council” and now “the Chamber of Representatives” will get a new name – “Viarhounaya Rada” (basically the same name as in the Ukraine). The elections will be held according to a mixed system. 50% of all deputies will be elected directly, another 50% - according to the party lists. The experts believe that introducing the 100%-majoritarian system would not possible in the nearest future, since many regions completely lack party structures.

The so-called “presidential vertical”, which now is the main and only source of real authority in Belarus (subordinated directly to the president) will be disbanded.

The president will have no right to initiate a referendum (now he is the only one, who not only has such a right, but also can implement it).

The local self-governing will play a much more important role in the future Belarus. The local councils will become less dependent on the central authorities, and more dependent on their direct electorate.

On the whole, the difference between the “Small Constitution” and the present Constitution is not a small one. If approved at some point in the future, it will be a huge step towards a civilized state. But will it be enough to prevent a transitional chaos, which we see in Ukraine, for example?