Political scientist: Armenian referendum to be followed by‘re-division’ of political arena
A realignment of forces in the Armenian political arena is a key issue on the agenda after the referendum on the constitutional reform, Director of the Armenian branch of the Institute of CIS Countries, political scientist Alexander Markarov told a press conference today.
In his words, political parties are already actively preparing for the upcoming parliamentary elections. “Under the parliamentary system of government, the role of parliamentary elections is extremely great because a government is formed through those elections,” Markarov stressed.
“In the transition period, inter-parliamentary discussions on the Electoral Code of Armenia – which shall be adopted by a majority of votes - will be held,” he said.
Asked if the opposition is able to close ranks in the parliamentary elections, Markarov said: “The history of elections shows that during presidential elections the opposition always tries to put up a united front, and how the opposition does it is another question. During parliamentary elections the opposition tries to run separately and by forming small coalitions”.
“In elections, the opposition can participate by putting up a united front, to form a coalition and gain even more votes, and oppositionists also have the opportunity to run as several separate forces, taking into account the protest voters,” Markarov said.
According to him, the citizens who voted against the constitutional reform in the recent referendum thus expressed their protest against the authorities, rather than against the amendments to the Constitution.
“Now the work of the opposition consists in being able to mobilize protest voters and receive their votes during the parliamentary elections,” the political scientist added.
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