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 Six total incidents have burned 19 old-growth trees. Friday night 8 trees were torched along the beautiful main entrance. The EU does not intend to conduct military exercises with Armenia, Lead Spokesperson for EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Peter Stano says. Hikmet Hajiyev has said that there is no place for USAID operation in Azerbaijan any longer. A telephone conversation between Putin and Pashinyan before the CSTO summit is not planned, Peskov says. Partner news | Ucom equips four bus stops in Ijevan with free Wi-Fi Ucom now provides free Wi-Fi coverage in smart bus stops in four communities of Ijevan. Armenia, Russia discuss life extension of Metsamor nuclear plant Issues regarding the extension of life of the 2nd power unit of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant were discussed in Yerevan. Armenians stage more campaigns against territorial concessions to Azerbaijan Protesters blocked more roads across Armenia on Friday, April 26 in continuing attempts to scuttle territorial concessions to Azerbaijan. Czech-Armenian military cooperation discussed in Yerevan A delegation led by the Director General for the Industrial Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic visited Armenia. |