NAGORNO-KARABAKH PARLIAMENT ADOPTS DRAFT CONSTITUTION

ITAR-TASS, Russia
Nov 2 2006

YEREVAN, November 2 (Itar-Tass) – The parliament of the self-proclaimed
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic approved in the second reading a draft
Constitution. It was adopted by a special session of the National
Assembly of the republic in Stepanakert on Wednesday evening.

The draft was approved by the overwhelming majority of deputies,
with one "against" and one abstention. The legislature decided to
put the document to a republic-wide referendum which is likely to be
set on December 10. A referendum was held on that day in 1991: 99.8
percent of voters were in favor of Nagorno-Karabakh’s independence
from Azerbaijan.

Head of the working group of the local Constitutional Commission and
republican prosecutor-general Armen Zalinyan said that legislators were
very active discussing the document. According to Zalinyan, following
the adoption of the draft in the first reading, the commission received
several hundreds of proposals from population as well as legislators
and parliamentary factions.