ANC calls on opposition to appeal to CC regarding adopted amendments  to Electoral Code

ArmInfo.  The Armenian authorities, having falsified the results of the National Assembly  elections through systematic and widespread violations, continue  their consistent destruction of the state and constitutional order of  the Republic of Armenia. This is stated in a statement by the  Armenian National Congress party, commenting on the amendments to the  Electoral Code of the Republic of Armenia.

The statement emphasizes that even in the face of large-scale  electoral fraud, having failed to secure a constitutional majority in  the newly formed National Assembly, the government forced the  parliament, in an extraordinary session, to adopt emergency and  urgent amendments to the Electoral Code, which significantly change  the foundations of Armenia's electoral system. In particular, as  noted in the document, the adopted amendments stipulate that only  those citizens of the Republic of Armenia who have actually resided  in Armenia for the period established by law have the right to  participate in national elections and referendums, thereby  establishing a residency requirement for exercising the right to  vote.

"In our opinion, these amendments contradict the Constitution of the  Republic of Armenia. Article 48 of the Constitution guarantees the  right of citizens of the Republic of Armenia to participate in  elections to state and local self-government bodies and referendums  as a fundamental political right. Moreover, Article 48 of the  Constitution of the Republic of Armenia not only mandatorily  stipulates that citizens of the Republic of Armenia who have reached  the age of 18 on the day of the elections to the National Assembly or  a referendum have the right to vote, but also exhaustively defines in  Part 4 of the same article the circle of persons deprived of this  right. The requirement of residency or actual presence in the  Republic of Armenia for a certain period of time is not included in  this list. Therefore, establishing a new residency requirement for  the right to vote by law essentially constitutes an additional  restriction not provided for by the Constitution," the statement  notes.

It also recalls that Article 2 of the Constitution establishes that  power belongs to the people, who exercise it, in particular, through  free elections and referendums. According to Article 77 of the  Constitution, restrictions on fundamental rights must be provided for  by the Constitution, pursue a constitutionally permissible goal, and  comply with the principle of proportionality. However, the  Constitution does not condition the right of a citizen of the  Republic of Armenia to vote on the fact of residing in Armenia for a  certain period of time, nor does it reserve the right of the  legislator to impose such additional restrictions.  "Therefore, the  application by law of an additional condition for the right to vote  goes beyond the scope of regulation permitted by the Constitution and  violates the constitutional principles of universal and equal  suffrage. In our opinion, the real purpose of these amendments is  political. They are aimed at artificially lowering the threshold of  one-quarter of the votes in favor of those eligible to vote required  for the adoption of the referendum question, and thereby facilitating  the implementation of the demand for amendments to the Constitution  of the Republic of Armenia put forward by Azerbaijan. If the  Constitutional Court does not recognize these amendments as  unconstitutional, then in the future all referendums and national  elections will be held on an unconstitutional legal basis, and the  legitimacy of the authorities formed as a result of them will be  constantly questioned, creating a continuous constitutional crisis.  The regime, driven by an obsession with maintaining power with  external support, is ready to destroy the constitutional and state  institutions of the Republic of Armenia for the sake of its own  political survival, maintaining the country in a constant state of  internal political and legal crisis. In this situation, we call on  the Human Rights Defender of the Republic of Armenia, as well as the  opposition factions of the National The Assembly urgently appeals to  the Constitutional Court to declare the amendments to the Electoral  Code unconstitutional and invalid. At the same time, we are convinced  that, to ensure the protection of Armenia's statehood, constitutional  order, and democracy, it is necessary to form a broad front of  socio-political resistance capable of halting the destruction of  state institutions through legal and constitutional means. Otherwise,  the current regime will continue its catastrophic policies, deepening  the internal crisis of the Republic of Armenia and weakening its  state resistance," the ANC statement reads.

As a reminder, the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia  adopted amendments to the Electoral Code and the Law "On Referendum"  in the second and final reading at an extraordinary session on July  3.  According to the amendments, citizens of the Republic of Armenia  who have reached the age of 18 on voting day and have actually  resided in Armenia for at least 366 days during the 730 days  preceding the 48th day before the vote, or on the 28th day before the  vote in the case of extraordinary parliamentary elections, have the  right to vote in the National Assembly elections. Another amendment  establishes that citizens who have reached the age of 18 on voting  day, registered in the population register of the relevant community  for at least six months before the vote, and who have actually  resided in the Republic of Armenia for at least 366 days during the  730 days preceding the 48th day before the vote, or on the 28th day  before the vote in the case of extraordinary elections, have the  right to vote in local government elections. It was also determined  that the period of actual stay in the Republic of Armenia does not  include absences due to travel abroad for official business trips of  individuals in the civil service or their family members residing  with them abroad as part of their diplomatic service, as well as  studies at foreign higher education institutions.

It should be noted that the urgency of the adopted document stemmed  from the authorities' concern about the participation of citizens  arriving from abroad, primarily from Russia, in the elections.