Amended Belarusian Constitution to take effect on March 15

March 4, BPN. Aliaksandr Lukašenka has ratified the results of the republican constitutional referendum. The amended version of the Constitution will take effect on March 15.

At the ratification ceremony, broadcast live on state TV channels, he announced that the referendum would go down in the textbooks as “another milestone in the development of a sovereign country.”

“It is very symbolic that the Basic Law will take effect on March 15 – the Constitution Day of the Republic of Belarus,” Lukašenka said.

In his opinion, “people have opted for an evolutionary transformation of the political system.”

Lukašenka believes that Belarusians have taken “a serious step to strengthen the country’s sovereignty amid a tense international situation and threats to our traditional way of life.”

The referendum was held on February 27. According to the Central Election Commission (CEC), 65.16% of eligible voters approved the amendments, representing 82.86% of those who took part in the voting.

Key amendments include legitimization of the All-Belarusian People’s Assembly, a restoration of the rule limiting the presidency by one person to a maximum of two terms, introduction of immunity for former presidents, monopolization of the state ideology, and abolition of the clause on the neutral and nuclear-free status of the country.