The Armenian public is not properly informed of the content of the new constitution, upcoming changes and novelties, Chairman of the Democratic Party of Armenia Aram Sargsyan said at a press conference in Yerevan on November 30.
He said the constitutional reform campaign is just a show. "Even we, as a political force opposing these constitutional amendments, have not received an opportunity or platform to express our viewpoint," Sargsyan said, noting that if the Armenian authorities really wanted to conduct those reforms, they should have done a serious job for that.
Meanwhile, Artsvik Minasyan, lawmaker from ARF Dashnaktsutyun, shared Sargsyan's opinion that the steps aimed at enhancing the public awareness of the forthcoming reforms are "lame". "But this is the flaw of not only the Armenian authorities, who initiated the reforms, but all the political forces in Armenia, which should have explained the reforms to the public. The politician is convinced that the new constitution includes a number of positive and important provisions for both the citizens and the political forces. Minasyan stressed that the new constitution envisages direct levers of influence on the monopolist oligarchs. "Do you think everyone in the power structures supports the new constitution? Many of them are against the new constitution, because they benefit from the current situation in the country and they need no changes," the ARFD member said.