Armenia constitutional referendum driven by political interests: PACEDecember 7, 2015 - 18:06 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - A cross-party delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) observed the referendum on constitutional reforms in Armenia, which took place on December 6 and led to a new constitution, the PACE website reports. After a somewhat low-key campaign with little public debate and a calm referendum day, according to preliminary results, around 64% voters cast ballots in favor of the changes, thus meeting the quorum of 25% of the registered voters needed to approve the changes. “The relatively low turn-out, around 50% of the population, reflects the fact that the referendum was driven by political interests instead of the needs of the Armenian public and was perceived by many citizens as a vote of confidence in the government rather than on the many proposals for change. The two-and-a-half-year reform process was not inclusive enough, the parliament having only a few weeks to discuss the text and public debate being limited to two months, making it difficult for an agreement to be reached. Thus, the core of the constitutional change - the shift from a presidential to a parliamentary system - was understood by too many citizens as being a means for the current president to remain in power after the end of his second (and what would have been final) term,” PACE says. Concerning the voting process, the Assembly statement notes, the delegation regrets that the authorities were not more concerned by the integrity of the process leading to a new constitution. While in Armenia, the delegation met leaders and representatives of parliamentary groups and parties, the Chairperson of the CEC, representatives of civil society and the media as well as OSCE/ODIHR experts. Andreas Gross (Switzerland, SOC), head of delegation, Doris Fiala (Switzerland, ALDE), Alan Meale (United Kingdom, SOC), rapporteur of the Monitoring Committee were included in the delegation. Top stories The EU does not intend to conduct military exercises with Armenia, Lead Spokesperson for EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Peter Stano says. A telephone conversation between Putin and Pashinyan before the CSTO summit is not planned, Peskov says. London’s Armenian community has been left feeling “under attack” after the city’s Genocide monument was vandalised. The United States believes there should be an international mission to provide transparency. Partner news | Armenia: Opposition activist transferred to Investigative Committee Activist Samvel Vardanyan has been accused of insulting the lawmaker Hakob Aslanyan from the ruling Civil Contract party. Russia confirms start of withdrawal of peacekeepers from Karabakh The Kremlin has confirmed reports about the start of the withdrawal of Russian peacekeeping forces in Karabakh. France recalls its ambassador to Azerbaijan France on April 16 said it had recalled for consultations the French ambassador to Azerbaijan. Protesters rally as Georgia debates 'foreign agent' bill Georgian critics label the bill "the Russian law", comparing it to legislation used by the Kremlin to crack down on dissent. |