More than 6.8 million Belarusians appear on the voter lists, for which they were enabled from 08:00 local time to 20:00, a total of 5,510 polling stations nationwide.
According to the Central Electoral Commission, all the necessary conditions were created to comply with the sanitary and epidemiological requirements prescribed by the Ministry of Health, as part of the fight against the spread of Covid-19.
He reported that 194 international observers were accredited, including Western experts. Of that total, 144 people represent the observer mission of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).
Voting cards include only one question: do you accept amendments and additions to the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus? Participants must mark “for” or “against”.
Suffrage is universal, free, equal and secret and citizens over 18 years of age can participate in it. It will be considered valid if more than half of the citizens included in the voting lists participate in it.
The draft of the new Magna Carta was drafted by the Constitutional Commission that began its work in March 2021 and, among several points, the amendments provide for the limitation to two consecutive terms of five years for the permanence in office of the president of Belarus.
They also establish that no former president will be prosecuted for actions related to the exercise of their functions.
Other changes are related to the preservation of national identity and sovereignty, cultural and spiritual traditions; and with the protection of historical truth, the memory of the Great Patriotic War and the heroism of the people, as well as the teaching of patriotic ideals.
The amendments propose the creation of conditions for the protection of personal data and the guarantee of security of the individual and society in its use, as well as the exclusion of the country’s military aggression against others, which gives Belarus the state status with a peaceful foreign policy.
Another proposal promotes the strengthening of the State’s responsibility for the development of peaceful nuclear energy, as well as for guaranteeing the safety in the production and use of nuclear energy.
The Belarusian authorities expressed their interest in providing all the necessary support for the holding of the referendum, in accordance with national legislation.
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