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The constitutional reform in Armenia can ensure positive changes in work of the government in terms of establishing proper legal relations between the citizen and the state and also promote sustainable development of internal and external functions of the country, the chairman of the Armenian parliament’s standing committee of foreign relations Artak Zakaryan told a press conference today.

“An important and responsible stage has begun for Armenia’s political arena, and on December 6 citizens of the country will vote to assess the constitutional reform in Armenia,” Zakaryan said.

In his words, complaints were voiced in Armenia before the initiation of draft amendments to the Constitution, with systemic changes being proposed at the time as a way of dealing with the problems.

“Today the Armenian government and the president suggest an option of such systemic changes. It will help change the form of government, while the draft constitutional amendments will turn Armenia’s National Assembly into a real representative body and allow political parties to establish themselves in the classical sense and develop as generators of political ideas, rather than political groups. People will get the opportunity to link their problems, benefits and interests with one or another political force,” the MP stressed.
Zakaryan expressed confidence that the parliamentary system of government proposed by the draft amendments is “the best form’ of democracy around the world.

Commenting on statements of constitutional reform opponents, A. zakaryan said that “in every society, there are some people who oppose the political forces that launch reforms”.

To remind, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan on August 21 sent the draft constitutional amendments 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. The campaign for the constitutional reform in Armenia began on October 10 and will end at midnight of December 4.