MINSK. May 28 (Interfax) - The all-Belarusian People's Assembly will be vested with the power to impeach the president in the event of high treason, Belarusian Constitutional Court Chairman Pyotr Miklashevich said.
"It is proposed that the parliament's rights to impeach, i.e. remove the president of the Republic of Belarus from office, be reassigned to the all-Belarusian People's Assembly. The president can be removed from office in the event of high treason or another grave crime," Miklashevich said at a Constitutional Commission meeting in Minsk on Friday.
The assembly should have the right to consider the legitimacy of presidential elections, he said.
There are plans to enshrine the status of the all-Belarusian People's Assembly in the constitution. "It is planned that the constitution will declare the following status of the all-Belarusian People's Assembly: the all-Belarusian People's Assembly is the supreme representative democracy body in the Republic of Belarus," Miklashevich said.
"The establishment of the status of the all-Belarusian People's Assembly in the constitution as a constitutional form of democracy aims to strengthen the stability of the representative democracy system in Belarus," he said.
The assembly consists of all deputies of the House of Representatives and members of the Council of the Republic, as well as of representatives of local self-government bodies from all regions, political parties and civil associations, Miklashevich said. "The all-Belarusian People's Assembly has 2,500 members. The presidium is the permanent body of the all-Belarusian Assembly, and the presidium chairman is elected by members of the all-Belarusian People's Assembly. Meetings of the all-Belarusian People's Assembly are convened by its presidium... at least once every five years," Miklashevich said.
An urgent meeting can be convened by the president, the parliament, or at least 150,000 citizens, he said, noting that decisions made at the Assembly meeting would be mandatory for the authorities, entities and citizens.