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Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan proposed on Thursday a nation-wide referendum on constitutional and related changes. The statement came at the extraordinary session underway in the country’s National Assembly.

The proposed amendments relate among other things to removing the requirement for the Constitutional Court to check the compliance of draft legislation with the Constitution of Armenia, and subsequently change the procedure of revision of the Constitution itself. In addition, a constitutional amendments will result at ending the terms of several members of the current Constitutional Court with immediate.

“We have found the dream model of the Constitutional Court,” the PM asserted, speaking at parliament.

“We have gathered here today to launch this process and we should adopt a decision to solve the issue with people. I hope that the National Assembly will make a decision on changing Article 213 and call for nation-wide referendum. Changing the Article in question will result in ending the terms of the members of the Constitutional Court elected through old system. This will happen if the citizens of Armenia go to electoral stations vote for the proposed amendment on the scheduled day of the referendum, vote for the revolution and vote for the rule of the people,” Pashinyan said.

To note, Armenia’s authorities question the legitimacy of 7 out of 9 judges of the current Constitutional Court who had been elected prior to the entry into force of the 2015 constitutional amendments. The argument is that according to the previous text of the Constitutional the judges in question had been elected as members of the Constitutional Court. Article 213 of the revised Constitution, however, provided that the Chairman and members of the Constitutional Court appointed prior to the entry into force of the 2015 Constitution should serve their terms.