What will new President’s first decree be like?

Sannikau will limit the number of presidential terms if he becomes President, Rymasheuski will bring the white-red-white flag and “Pahonya” back, Kastysyou will revive the new economic policy, Nyaklyayeu will give preference to businessmen and Hlushakou will cancel all decrees and abolish his position. ERB has wondered what the new Belarusian President’s decree will be like if an alternative candidate manages to win.

Economist Yaraslau Ramanchuk has confessed that he has already prepared three projects of presidential decrees. All of them will affect the economy.

Yaraslau Ramanchuk: “I have a lot of prepared documents. In the first place, it is the budget, a decree on the liberalization of the business climate. We also have a law on social guarantees that will be adopted as a complex. The three decrees will be adopted immediately. The fourth one concerns a referendum dedicated to constitutional changes”.



Surprisingly, the leader of the “Tell the Truth!” campaign, poet Uladzimir Nyaklyayeu, will also start working on the economy.

Uladzimir Nyaklyayeu: “We see intense development of our economy in small-scale and medium business. The first decree will give full preference to those who will be involved in small-scale and medium business and will intensify the process”.  



President Nyaklyayeu will make such business free and he promises that he will limit it with minimal taxes. Nyaklyayeu is going to bring back national symbols and revive the language with the help of conviction rather than decrees. He says he will gradually convince people to become real Belarusians.

The deputy head of the BNF Party Ryhor Kastusyou will also deal with the economy first. Furthermore, he wants to revive the new economic policy that existed in Russia at the beginning of the last century.
Ryhor Kastusyou: “To cut it short, the law will introduce a new economic policy in Belarus like it happened in Russia in the 1920s. I want to bring the NEP back. What for? Many people say that if we start reforms economic indexes will decrease and the NEP will allow us to use the current situation as a start and will prevent an economic default”.



The first decree of President Vital Rymasheuski will concern the results of the referendum that gave the red-green flag to our country and the return of the white-red-white flag and “Pahonya”. However, Rymasheuski thinks that appointing new people to top positions is the most important thing. Then it will be the turn of the economy.

Appointments to positions will be in the first decree of the head of the Association of small-scale and medium business Victar Tsyareshchanka.

Victar Tsyareshchanka: “The first decree is about the staff and its distribution. The government fulfills the main responsibilities as well as members of the government”.

It will be followed by decrees about state programmes, cash and credit policy and the level of social protection of citizens.

Ales Mіhalevіch will think what to do about his predecessor if he becomes President.

Ales Mіhalevіch: “The first decree will be about the legal status of the previous Belarusian President”.



However, Mihalevich has not explained what kind of status it will be and has only noted that it will depend on many circumstances.

Andrei Sannikau will also indicate the legal status of the state leader. He will limit the number of presidential terms in his decree.

Andrei Sannikau: “A limitation should be imposed on the number of presidential terms to help people calm down. It should be guaranteed forever because it arouses the most negative attitude now”.



The first decree of the head of liberal democrats Syarhei Haidukevich will concern changes in the Constitution and the convocation of the Parliament.

Syarhei Haidukevich: “The first decree will be the order to organize a parliamentary meeting to discuss the new Constitution. It is necessary to understand that we should get ready for changes in the Constitution and establish equality of authorities to use party lists and everything the way we should”.



Haidukevich did not want to discuss his first decrees in detail. He said he was a materially-minded politician and preferred solving problems when they appeared.

The deputy head of the Greens Yury Hlushakou has promised to cancel all current decrees signed by Alyaksandr Lukashenka in his first decree.

Yury Hlushakou: “My first decree will cancel all decrees. I am an ardent adherent of gradual multiple authority. In my opinion, we should abolish the presidential republic. I will do it either in my first or second decree”.

Hlushakou is planning to give full power to the Parliament and local councils. Speaking about economic issues, he will abolish the contract system. In Hlushakou’s opinion, workers should be masters of their organizations. At the same time, he is against the privatization of such bug enterprises as “Belarus Potassium” and “Naftan”.

Photo by: Zmitser Lukashuk