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The draft constitutional amendments-proposed transition to a parliamentary system of government will further strengthen democracy in Armenia,  MP of the faction of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) Karine Achemyan said at a press conference today.

In her words, the proposed constitutional reform will help introduce new mechanisms that will enhance the supervisory functions of the opposition.

An efficient coverage during the campaign ahead of the constitutional reform referendum will enable to achieve a good result, Karine Achemyan noted.

As regards opponents of the constitutional reform in Armenia, the MP said there is no model of governance that would be to everyone’s liking. “I believe that it is wrong to discuss the referendum’s legitimacy in advance and to say that the results will be falsified,” she said. 

To remind, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan on August 21 sent the draft constitutional amendment to the country’s parliament. The draft was developed by the Special Commission on Constitutional Reforms adjunct to Armenian President. Following the debates, the Armenian parliament adopted on October 5 the draft decision of the National Assembly on its consent for the document to be put to a referendum. The decision was passed by a majority of the votes: 104 MPs voted in favor, 10 against, with 3 abstentions. The draft was supported by the factions of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA), and opposition ARF-Dashnaktsutyun (ARFD) and Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP). Opposition factions ‘Heritage’ and ‘Armenian National Congress (ANC), and 2 MPs of opposition faction ‘Orinats Yerkir’ voted against. The Armenian president set December 6, 2015 as the date for the constitutional referendum.