(Read the full article on BELTA.BY)

A referendum on amendments and additions to the Constitution is planned to be held in February this year, as promised earlier. This was stated by President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko today at a meeting following the nationwide discussion of the draft amendments to the Constitution, BelTA has learned.

Taking into account the proposals and comments that were made today by the meeting participants, the President instructed to finalize the draft and submit it for consideration in the near future. “If there are some things that need to be polished somewhere, then they need to be polished, because people will criticize later, they will say that illiterates wrote the Constitution. Look. But so that we do not violate the law and enter the referendum on time” – said the Belarusian leader.

“Let the people express their opinion. No one will put pressure. We express our position frankly. It will pass, it won’t pass (whether or not a new draft Constitution will be adopted at a referendum. – Approx. BelTA) – the people will decide. The main thing is to bring the essence to the people, salt “Dear, esteemed comrades, here we are proposing this Constitution, why – here are the reasons. I will talk about this in the Address (to the people and parliament. – approx. BelTA) in the near future,” the Belarusian leader noted.

Alexander Lukashenko recalled how several years ago, also during his Address to the People and Parliament, he announced the need to prepare amendments to the Constitution. And later this idea was passed off as their opponents of the authorities, demanding some “changes”. “It was not them who initiated these changes,” the head of state pointed to the sequence of events. “We have been approaching the issue of changing the Constitution for a long time. But the issue was not so acute. for “changes”.