Armenian opposition unhappy about proposed constitutional reforms

Armenian opposition unhappy about proposed constitutional reforms

Noyan Tapan news agency
30 Aug 04

Yerevan, 30 August: A new draft of constitutional reforms being
circulated in the National Assembly provides [Armenian President]
Robert Kocharyan with an opportunity to be elected for a third term,
the leader of the National Democratic Party [NDP] and a member of the
[opposition] Justice faction, Shavarsh Kocharyan, told journalists
at the Azdak discussion club on 28 August.

To prove his point, Kocharyan said, for example, that under Article
111 of the draft, Chapter 9 of the constitution can be amended only by
means of a referendum. This chapter establishes transitional provisions
which are completely lacking in the draft. Shavarsh Kocharyan suggested
that “there can emerge a certain tender-hearted MP and claim that once
the amendments come into effect, the provision on the [maximum of]
two presidential terms is no longer applicable”. He also suggested
that the authorities did not make a serious effort to have the draft
amendments to the constitution adopted at the 2003 referendum because
it would not have provided Robert Kocharyan with an opportunity to
be elected for a third term.

Shavarsh Kocharyan said that the above mentioned draft was clearly
leading the country to a dictatorship. [Passage omitted: minor
details. ]

Under the new draft, if a cabinet proposed by the president is rejected
by the parliament twice, the parliament can be disbanded, which means
that the National Assembly loses its role and significance and becomes
an appendage of the president, Shavarsh Kocharyan said. [Passage
omitted: repetition.]

Shavarsh Kocharyan said once again that the opposition will not return
to parliament, adding that “returning to the National Assembly now
would mean being a cover to the process that is leading the country
to a dictatorship”.