7th All-Belarusian People's Assembly

The 7th All-Belarusian People's Assembly was a convention of the All-Belarusian People's Assembly, including government officials, members of state-owned enterprises, and other individuals held from 24 to 25 April 2024 in the Palace of the Republic, Minsk. The first such conference since the 2022 Belarusian constitutional referendum that established it as the "highest representative organ of the people's government of [...] Belarus", media associated with the Belarusian opposition largely described it as a further consolidation of absolute power by President Alexander Lukashenko.

Background
The All-Belarusian People's Assembly was established in October 1996 by a presidential decree of Alexander Lukashenko. Prior to 2022 its role was exclusively advisory and it lacked significant powers.

As a result of the 2022 Belarusian constitutional referendum, which was internationally regarded as unfree and unfair, the All-Belarusian People's Assembly was given a constitutional role as "the highest representative organ of the people's government of the Republic of Belarus". According to Lukashenko's proposals after the referendum, the ABPA comprises 1,200 delegates elected to a five-year term. The Prime Minister of Belarus is required to report to the ABPA, and, at the request of the President, it can deploy the Armed Forces of Belarus abroad. It is additionally able to impeach the President and contest the results of elections.

The empowered ABPA has been described by independent political analysts such as Vadzim Mažejka and Arciom Šrajbman as similar to extra-parliamentary bodies in other states, such as the Politburo or Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, or the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China. Pro-democracy activist Anatoly Lebedko characterised the expansion of the ABPA's authorities as consolidating a "super-presidential republic" around Lukashenko.

Assembly
The assembly began on 24 April 2024. That evening, Lukashenko was appointed as Chairman of the ABPA with all but one vote (Natalya Kochanova) in favour. Aliaksandr Kosiniec, former Chief of Staff to the President of Belarus, was selected as deputy chairman.

The assembly was marked by more jingoistic rhetoric on the part of Lukashenko and other delegates, urging Belarus to prepare for war. Independent analyst Valier Karbalievič claimed that this was an effort by Lukashenko to encourage the larger population to support him, threatening Belarusian involvement in the Russian invasion of Ukraine in an effort to rally the people to his side.

Presidium
In addition to Lukashenko and Kosiniec, a thirteen-member presidium was selected by unanimous vote.

Opposition reactions
Pavel Latushko, head of the opposition National Anti-Crisis Management group, referred to delegates to the assembly as "so-called delegates", and expressed the position that the ABPA was "a joke". Latushko also argued that the ABPA was a "transition of government" leading to annexation into Russia, a view shared by Lebedko.