DUSHANBE, December 7, 2015, Asia-Plus — Armenia”s Central Election Commission says the preliminary results indicate voters have endorsed constitutional changes that would change the country from a presidential to a parliamentary system.
With 93 percent of the vote in a December 6 referendum counted, officials say 63.5 percent voted in favor of the changes, which were proposed by incumbent President Serzh Sargsyan.
After being drafted by the Specialized Commission on Constitutional Reforms, the proposed amendments to the constitution were sent to the National Assembly on August 21. On October 5, the National Assembly voted to put the proposals to a referendum by a margin of 104–10, with three abstensions. The Republican Party, Armenian Revolutionary Federation and Prosperous Armenia voted in favor, whilst the Armenian National Congress and Heritage voted against. The three abstainers were members of the Rule of Law, with two of the party”s MPs voting against the proposals.
The package of proposed constitutional reforms would abolish direct presidential elections, with the National Assembly electing the President instead. The presidential term would be extended from five to seven years, and the President would no longer be commander-in-chief, as the power would be transferred to the Prime Minister. The number of parliamentary seats will be reduced from 131 to at least 101.
Meanwhile, critics of the new constitution nicknamed the referendum “Sargsyan’s project,” as it would allow incumbent President Serzh Sargsyan
to de facto remain in power after his second term if the ruling Republican Party wins the new parliamentary elections.
Heritage party leader Raffi Hovannisian stated that the proposed constitutional reform is carried out to establish a political party-state in Armenia. Armenian National Congress (HAK) member, economist and former Yerevan Mayor Vahagn Khachatryan stated: “This [new] Constitution will not solve our problems, but further complicate them. This Constitution will be in the interests of neither the [Armenian] state nor the citizens.”
