President Sarkissian has made these remarks in the interview to Mediamax, Shant TV Company and Aravot newspaper today.
According to the President, he has not yet received the decision of the referendum, which the National Assembly of Armenia made on February 6.
“Once it is referred to me, I will inform the public about my opinion. It is not simply a matter of signing or not signing the document. I will try to make a contribution,” said Armen Sarkissian. He has underlined that the president should not be considered an “interpreter” of the Constitution.
“The President observes implementation of the Constitution but does not guarantee it. The President must not interfere in the work of the branches of power or publicly share opinions about the work of executive or legislative powers. However, the President can give advice and support. The tools I have at my disposal to express opinion are quite limited, but this is not about craving more authorities. We shifted towards the parliamentary form of governance, which means that the less authorities the President has, the better,” said Armen Sarkissian.
He believes that the institution of presidency should not be limited to observing compliance with the Constitution or detecting incompliance with it.
“The President should have a broader view on issues – consider how the given law, action or decision can affect the society. Let’s assume that I receive a bill, which the experts believe complies with the Constitution. They say there is no need to apply to the Constitutional Court. The President either signs the document or refuses to sign it, which means that the National Assembly will enforce it anyway some time later. However, even if the bill does not contradict the Constitution, the President could believe that the bill might have negative impact in certain areas. In some countries the President can veto the bill in such a case, showing the society that he or she disagrees with the proposed law and suggests executive and legislative powers to consider it again. There are countries where the President has the right to refer the law back to the parliament,” said Armen Sarkissian.
President Sarkissian has noted that he followed the events of recent days closely.
“I agree that the phenomenon of turning to the people should be established in our culture. Turning to the people is not a drastic measure. It can be done through referendum or plebiscite, and it is very valuable in the 21st century. Today we live two lives – real and virtual. There can be heated discussions, clash of opinions and huge amount of fake accounts in the virtual world. It prevents people from differentiating between real and unreal, true and false. In these circumstances, it is very important to face reality, so to say, communicate with the people and hear real opinions. Plebiscite does not have to be connected with the Constitution or a law. For instance, in Switzerland, making the people a party to the decision-making process is a success and a part of everyday life. We should not be afraid to try it here in Armenia. It is a necessity in the “double lives” we live in the 21st century,” said President Sarkissian.