The National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus ( be, Нацыянальны сход Рэспублікі Беларусь, Nacyjanalny schod Respubliki Bielaruś; russian: Национальное собрание Республики Беларусь, Natsionalnoye sobran'ye Respubliki Belarus') is the bicameral

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

. The two chambers of the National Assembly are: *the Council of the Republic – the

upper house An upper house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.''Bicameralism'' (1997) by George Tsebelis The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restric ...

*the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

– the lower house. While each chamber has specific duties, both chambers have the ability to veto the decrees of local administrations that deviate from the

Constitution of Belarus The Constitution of the Republic of Belarus ( be, Канстытуцыя Рэспублікі Беларусь, russian: Конституция Республики Беларусь) is the ultimate law of Belarus. The Constitution is composed o ...

. The chambers of the National Assembly are convened to two regular sessions every year: the first session opens 2 October and its duration cannot be more than 80 days; the second session opens 2 April and does not last more than 90 days. The House of Representatives and the Council of the Republic may be convened to an extraordinary session. Extraordinary sessions are convened under a particular agenda upon an initiative of the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

or upon a request of at least two-thirds majority of the full membership of each of the chambers. Any bill must be initially considered in the House of Representatives and then in the Council of the Republic. In practice, the National Assembly has no real power. The Belarusian political system concentrates all governing power in the hands of President

Alexander Lukashenko Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko (as transliterated from Russian; also transliterated from Belarusian as Alyaksand(a)r Ryhoravich Lukashenka;, ; rus, Александр Григорьевич Лукашенко, Aleksandr Grigoryevich Luk ...

. Notably, the National Assembly has no control over government spending; according to the Constitution, any bill that increases or decreases spending can only be considered with presidential permission. Presidential decrees have greater weight than ordinary legislation. However, since it took its current form in 1996, the National Assembly has been dominated by Lukashenko's supporters in any event, and there is no substantive opposition to presidential decisions. Its predecessor was the

Supreme Council of Belarus The Supreme Council of the Republic of Belarus, sometimes translated as Supreme Soviet of the Republic of Belarus ( be, Вярхоўны Савет Рэспублікі Беларусь), was the unicameral legislature of Belarus between 1991 an ...

(until 1996).

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:National Assembly Of Belarus Government of Belarus 1996 establishments in Belarus

Politics of Belarus