ArmInfo. Paruyr Hayrikyan, the leader of the party "Union of National Self-Determination", today morning went on a hunger strike in front of the building of the Central Election Commission of Armenia, protesting against it, as the politician defined, anti-constitutional actions.
Hayrikyan's protest was caused by the fact that the CEC refused to provide him with documents to collect signatures of 200,000 RA citizens to initiate constitutional reforms. As you know, the new Constitution provides citizens with this opportunity, while the CEC, referring to earlier adopted legislative acts, claims that the initiation of constitutional reforms by citizens is not stipulated by the country's legislation and refuses to give Hayrikyan and his supporters the appropriate documents for collecting signatures.
Hayrikyan told journalists that the purpose of the constitutional reforms initiated by him is to increase the role of citizens in the socio-political processes of the country. According to him, the participation of citizens in the life of the country was reduced by half after the adoption of the new Constitution. Hayrikyan, in particular, proposes to consolidate the right of choosing the prime minister for citizens by direct voting. In addition, he proposes to hold parliamentary and premier elections in the country at intervals of 2 and 3 years, respectively.
What will happen, if the CEC continues to refuse to provide documents for collecting signatures, Hayrikyan answered inaudible. He also found it difficult to say how long his hunger strike would last. At present, while there are no reactions from the RA authorities to Hayrikyan's demands.