Venice Commission Approves Opinions on Armenia’s Constitutional Amendments

Vardanyan: ARF Will Campaign for Reforms throughout the Country VENICE, Italy (A.W.)—The Council of Europe’s body of constitutional experts, the European Commission for Democracy Through Law, also known as the Venice Commission, unanimously approved the draft joint opinion on Armenia's constitutional amendments during its 104th plenary session on Oct. 23-24 in Venice. Armenia’s speaker of the National Assembly, Galust Sahakyan, was present at the plenary session. Commission members Taliya Khabrieva, Evgeni Tachev, Sergio Bartole, and Aivars Endzins “highly assessed the draft constitutional amendments, characterizing it as a document corresponding to the international standards of democracy,” read a part of the statement released by Armenia’s National Assembly. The constitutional amendments were adopted by the National Assembly on Oct. 5 and will be submitted to a national referendum Dec. 6. Vardanyan: ARF Will Campaign for Reforms throughout the Country Speaking to reporters in Yerevan on Oct. 26, Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) parliamentary faction secretary Aghvan Vardanyan said that the party will continue to actively push for the constitutional reforms through campaigns in different parts of Armenia. “We [the ARF] will set up headquarters and offices in various regions throughout Armenia. A press campaign for it is already underway and we have made a tentative schedule to visit the provinces to hold town hall meetings on the issue,” Vardanyan was quoted as saying by Yerkir News. Opposition Calls for Regime Change A newly formed group calling itself "New Armenia" (Nor Hayasdan), comprised of members of the Heritage Party and the Founding Parliament (formerly Pre-Parliament), is opposed to the constitutional changes, and is calling for a complete regime change before Dec. 6, according to ArmeniaNow. Last week, New Armenia announced that it will be holding street protests in Yerevan beginning on Dec. 1 to try to oust the current government. Although the group has called for “peaceful demonstrations,” they pledge to resist if the authorities “dare to use force,” according to the ArmeniaNow report. Background On Sept. 11, the Venice Commission published its Second Preliminary Opinion on the draft amendments to the constitution, finding that the amendments were in line with international standards. The document covered Chapters 8, 9, and 11-16 of the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia, and followed the first preliminary opinion on the draft amendments to Chapters 1-7 and 10, which was issued on July 30. The Venice Commission concluded then that the work carried out by the Constitutional Commission of Armenia is of “extremely high quality” and deserves to be welcomed and supported. “The atmosphere of genuine dialogue and fruitful exchanges with the Venice Commission has continued and has enabled the Constitutional Commission to produce a text which is now in line with international standards,” read the document. In respect to the shift from a semi-presidential to a parliamentary form of government, the commission’s report notes that the draft amendments to the constitution under consideration introduce a system wherein the powers of the president of the Armenian Republic “have been drastically reduced, and are almost only ceremonial, compared to the powers of presidents as guarantors of the constitution in other parliamentary regimes in Europe.” The ARF has called for a transition to a parliamentary system of government in Armenia. Under the new system, Armenia would work with a 101-seat parliament with a 5-year term elected entirely by proportional representation. Under the current system of government, there are 131 members of parliament, with 41 elected in first-past-the-post constituencies and the rest by proportional representation. In a discussion held on Oct. 11 in Watertown, Mass., Levon Mkrtchyan, a former member of the ARF Bureau and the former minister of education and sciences of the Republic of Armenia, said that “the constitution applies to everything in the country, and it should be clear why the ARF is backing the proposed changes to the constitution.” “Not all of the country’s problems will be fixed, but it can get the country out of this hopeless situation and deal with some root issues. I believe that the current ruling government and the president support these changes because they also recognize that there is a problem with the current system, that there is a lack of faith in the system in the country. This apathy and hopelessness can seriously affect the national security of Armenia. It is a danger to everyone—to the people and to the leaders,” said Mkrtchyan.

Venice Commission Approves Opinions on Armenia’s Constitutional Amendments

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Weekly Staff

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Weekly Staff

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