Eurasianet Organization
July 5 2005

CHANGE TO COME FOR ARMENIA’S CONSTITUTION?
Haroutiun Khachatrian 7/05/05

Armenia’s ruling coalition and opposition appear poised to reach a
consensus on amendments to the country’s constitution. The
breakthrough comes after persistent intervention by the Council of
Europe and could signal an end to the opposition’s 18-month boycott
of parliament.

Constitutional reform is a pivotal political issue for Armenia.
Overtures to western organizations such as the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization and the European Union have picked up pace in recent
years and Yerevan appears eager to throw its lot more decidedly with
the West. Making the case that the government is committed to
democratic reform constitutes a key part of that process.

At a June 28 press conference with Shavarsh Kocharian, a member of
the opposition Ardarution (Justice) bloc, Tigran Torosian, deputy
chairman of the National Assembly, announced that the ruling
coalition and opposition are very close to a consensus on a draft
constitution that includes provisions recommended by the Venice
Commission, the Council of Europe’s advisory body on constitutional
law. In a statement released that same day, Roland Wegener, chief of
the Council of Europe’s monitoring mission, described the accord
reached with the Venice Commission a critical step for Armenia’s
ongoing democratization.

The changes advocated by the Venice Commission and opposition and
accepted by the government cover three main areas. Under the
Commission’s recommendations, the president would no longer be able
to dismiss the prime minister at will and a new prime minister would
require the approval of a majority of parliament’s members.

The provision is seen as essential for balancing the distribution of
power between the president and the parliament. Constitutional
amendments passed by the National Assembly in a first reading in May
2005 stipulated that the president may dissolve a newly elected
parliament if that body twice fails to endorse presidential
candidates for prime minister. The current constitution does not
allow the National Assembly to be dissolved until one year after its
election has passed.

The election of Yerevan’s mayor presented a second key concession.
Under Armenia’s current constitution, the country is divided into 11
provinces (marzs), with governors appointed by the central
government. Yerevan, home to roughly half of the country’s population
of 2.98 million, holds the status of a province. Apparently fearing
the emergence of a powerful political rival, both Kocharian and
Armenia’s first president, Levon Ter-Petrossian (1990-1998), had
favored keeping the mayorship an appointed position.

The third concession concerned the Council of Justice, a body that
plays a key role in appointing judges. The government had initially
refused to remove provisions from the draft constitution that name
the president chairman of the council. The Council of Europe had
recommended that such a change was necessary to establish the
independence of judicial power.

After final changes are made to the document and approved by
parliament in late August, the proposed constitution will be put to
Armenian voters this November in a national referendum.

With the opposition already welcoming the government’s decision to
accept the Venice Commission’s recommendations, both sides now appear
optimistic about the course of political change. “It’s too important
that the referendum to be held in Armenia by November be crowned with
success and Armenia receive a new chance for its development, [for
the] extension of democracy, as a result of which the country will
become a [leader] in the South Caucasus,” Noyan Tapan news agency
reported Torosian as saying in explaining the decision to adopt the
Commission’s proposals and work with the opposition.

If the draft submitted to the Venice Commission “completely
corresponds to the memorandum and the requirements publicly put
forward by the opposition are Fulfilled,” Kocharian stated, the
opposition would take part in the parliamentary debates scheduled for
August, when the draft constitution will be up for a second reading.
The National Unity opposition faction has already declared that it
will abandon its boycott of parliament to do likewise.

“The expected reforms . . . [are] a good ground for Armenia to be . .
. able to [advance] in its development and to . . . differ from not
only Azerbaijan, but, also, Georgia,” Kocharian said.

President Robert Kocharian first proposed changes to Armenia’s 1995
constitution upon coming to power in 1998, but the reforms have been
a start-and-stop process until now.

The newfound agreement, however, came as the result of steady
pressure. An earlier referendum in 2003, submitted by the government
one year later than promised, failed to gain voters’ support. Past
delays in advancing constitutional reform prompted the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) to include this issue as an
urgent topic of discussion in its June 2005 session.

In a June 23 resolution during PACE’s summer assembly, the body
delivered a de facto ultimatum to Armenia for this latest draft: “The
Assembly strongly believes that, for the sake of its own people and
for the sake of its further European integration, Armenia cannot
afford another failure of the constitutional referendum.” The
document calls on Armenia to hold a referendum on an amended
constitution no later than November 20005 and for the opposition to
end its boycott of parliament, launched following the disputed
re-election of President Kocharian in 2003, and promote the Council
of Europe’s recommendations.

Armenia will resubmit its draft constitution to the Venice Commission
by July 7 for further discussion.

However, numerous difficulties remain. Armenia’s ruling coalition
must approve the changes made based on the recommendations and send
the document once again to the Venice Commission for approval.

Only after parliament approves the final draft document, will
preparations for the November referendum begin. These include a
public awareness campaign as well as work to remove irregularities
from voter lists that have plagued past Armenian votes.

Getting Armenians to turn out for the vote, however, could prove the
ultimate test. In a recent poll conducted by the private Vox Populi
organization, only 29 percent of some 624 Yerevan residents
definitely planned to take part or were likely to take part in the
November referendum, Armenialiberty.org reported.

But for now, a lack of voter interest does not appear to figure into
PACE strategy for working with the Kocharian administration. With an
eye to encouraging Armenia’s constitutional reform process, the
assembly’s June resolution simply urges the government “to provide
for the coming into force of the constitutional reform as soon as
reasonably possible.”

Editor’s Note: Haroutiun Khachatrian is a Yerevan-based writer
specializing in economic and political affairs.