Lukashenka Declares Referendum

08.09.2004.

At 9 p.m. on 7 September all four Belarusian TV-channels – BT, Lad, ONT and STV broadcast the appeal of president to citizens of Belarus, in which he declared referendum in order to stay president for the third term athwart Belarusian Constitution. The referendum is combined with the Parliamentary election that will take place on 17 October.

We should remind that article 82 of Belarusian Constitutions states: “President is elected for five years… One person can be president for not more than two terms”. Aliaksandr Lukashenka has been elected president of Belarus twice – in 1994 and 2001.

The question that is put to the referendum is formulated in the following way:

“Do you allow the first president of the Republic of Belarus Aliaksandr Ryhoravich Lukashenka to participate in the presidential election in the capacity of candidate and do you accept the first part of article 81 of the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus in the following edition: “President is elected for five years directly by the people on the basis of common, free, equal and direct electoral right by secret vote?”