ARMENIA TO HAVE CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM REFERENDUM ON NOV 27
By Tigran Liloyan

ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
October 4, 2005 Tuesday 3:50 PM Eastern Time

Armenia will have a referendum on constitutional amendments on
November 27.

The parliament passed the draft on a constitutional reform in the
third reading on September 28. The existent constitution has been
in effect since July 1995, and amendments result from the Armenian
commitments to the Council of Europe. They will balance powers of
legislative and executive authorities.

European experts have approved the draft.

The amendments will lift the ban on double naturalization, which is
important for more than 5 million Armenians residing abroad.

The constitutional reform is very important for the European
integration of Armenia, President Robert Kocharian said.

Constitutional amendments have once been put on a referendum. The
referendum was held simultaneously with parliamentary elections in
May 2003 but did not gain support of voters.