Armenian president urges voters to support constitutional changes
AP Worldstream; Jul 05, 2005
Armenian President Robert Kocharian on Tuesday congratulated his
landlocked Caucasus nation on the 10th anniversary of the adoption of
the country’s constitution and urged Armenians to approve a key
referendum later this year on constitutional changes.
“The basic law of our country is the main guarantor of civil unity,
lawfulness and stability,” Kocharian said, according to his press
service.
Armenia gained independence in 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet
Union. But it did not adopt a constitution until 1995 because of a
bloody conflict with neighboring Azerbaijan over the disputed ethnic
Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh.
In the referendum, Armenians will be asked whether they support a
stricter separation of powers between the judicial, executive and
legislative branches. They will also be asked about the removal of a
clause outlawing dual citizenship for members of Armenia’s large
foreign diaspora.
The first draft of the text of the referendum has been approved by
pro-government and opposition lawmakers as well as by European
experts. In 2003 Armenians rejected a similar referendum because the
government failed to sell it to voters, critics say.
According to a recent opinion poll conducted by the Vox Populi center
among 624 residents of the capital Yerevan, only 13 percent of them
were sure they would vote in the plebiscite, while 32 percent said
they would boycott it. The margin of error was not given.