Editing Elections in Belarus (section)

===1996 referendum===
{{main|1996 Belarusian referendum}}
The 24 November 1996 Belarusian Referendum required the population of Belarus to vote on four issues suggested by President Lukashenko and three suggested by the [[Supreme Council of Belarus]]. 6,181,463 citizens took part in the referendum, or 84.14% of the total electorate of 7,346,397.

; President's questions
#To move the [[Independence Day (Belarus)|Independence Day]] of the Republic of Belarus (Republic Day) to 3 July, the day of the liberation of Belarus from [[Nazi]] occupants during the [[Eastern Front (World War II)|Second World War]].
#: 88.18% voted for, 10.46% voted against.
#To adopt the 1994 Constitution of the Republic of Belarus with amendments and additions (new revision of the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus) suggested by President of the Republic of Belarus A.G. Lukashenko.
#:70.45% voted for, 9.39 voted against.
#Do you favor the free, without any limitations, selling and buying of land?
#:15.35% voted for, 82.88% voted against
#Do you approve the abolition of the [[death sentence]] in the Republic of Belarus?
#:17.93% voted for, 82.88% voted against.

; Supreme Council's questions
#To adopt the 1994 Constitution of the Republic of Belarus with amendments and additions suggested by the Communist and Agrarian fractions of the Supreme Soviet.
#:7.93% voted for, 71.2% voted against
#Do you favor the suggestion that the leaders of the local organs of the [[executive power]] to be elected directly by the residents of the corresponding administrative-territorial unit?
#:28.14% voted for, 69.92% voted against
#Do you agree that financing of all branches of state power has to be carried out in an open and transparent way and only from the state [[budget]]?
#:32.18% voted for, 65.85% voted against.

The Belarusian democratic opposition, human rights organizations and several foreign observers have recorded numerous violations of the legislation regarding the organization of the referendum, both during the voting itself and during the campaign before it. The referendum was accompanied by a constitutional crisis, a conflict between president [[Alexander Lukashenko]] and the oppositional parliament. There have been mass street protests by the opposition protesting against the referendum and against human rights violations.

The opposition also spoke of the rigging of the referendum, and never recognized the results, as well as the results of the [[1995 Belarusian referendum|previous referendum held in 1995]].<ref>[http://www.svaboda.org/content/article/757714.html Ці адпавядаў рэфэрэндум 14 траўня 1995 году Канстытуцыі і законам?] - ''Was the Referendum of 1995 held according to the Constitution and laws?'' - analysis by [[Siarhiej Navumchyk]], former member of parliament; [https://web.archive.org/web/20200504091250/http://www.pbnf.org/2005/05/14/old_683.html Круглы стол “Рэфэрэндум 1995 году – пачатак наступу на беларускую мову й гістарычную памяць”] - ''The referendum of 1995: the begin of an attack against the Belarusian language and historical memory'', a roundtable held by the [[Partyja BNF]]</ref>
Alena Skryhan, the deputy head of Communist fraction of the Parliament in 1996 said that the referendum had led to monopolization of all branches of power by president [[Alexander Lukashenko]].<ref>[[Radio Free Europe]] Belarusian Edition: [http://www.svaboda.org/Content/Article/802880.html 9 Years Ago Lukashenko Changed the Constitution via a Referendum] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807065613/http://www.svaboda.org/content/article/802880.html |date=2011-08-07 }}{{in lang|be}}</ref>