Tuesday, March 10 2020 15:07

ArmInfo. Steps are currently being taken to make all the provisions of the Constitution a reality and the upcoming referendum is aimed at that.On March 10, Prime  Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan stated this  during a campaign rally in Meghri, Syunik region of Armenia.

According to him, during the organization of the referendum on  constitutional amendments in 2015, statements were made that all this  was done with the aim of extending the power of Serzh Sargsyan, and  the authorities claimed that there was nothing of the kind, and that  this was supposedly done to establish institutions of power. "And at  the same time they said: look what changes we are making in  connection with the institution of the Constitutional Court, this  will have revolutionary significance for Armenia.  Meanwhile, the  Constitution states that the Constitutional Court should be a  balanced, apolitical body. It noted that if earlier the same the  parliamentary majority both nominated and elected a member of the  Constitutional Court, now we are changing the procedure for its  formation. That after this, the parliament will no longer have the  opportunity to nominate a candidate for membership in the  Constitutional Court, there will only be a vote "for" or "against".   Under the new regulations, three candidates for the Constitutional  Court will be nominated by the president, three more by the Cabinet  and as many by the General Assembly of Judges, who will then be voted  for by the parliament, "the head of government recalled.

He added that this is a guarantee that the country will not have a  party-politicized Constitutional Court formed by a group of certain  persons. Pashinyan also introduced the second big change: if before  that a member of the Constitutional Court held his post for life,  then, according to the new version of the Constitution it will be 12  years, and the head of the Constitutional Council is elected for 6  years and only once. The third change is that the head of the  Constitutional Court is not elected by the National Assembly, namely,  the judges of the Constitutional Court among their own. The stay of  the chairman of the Constitutional Court on the post was life-long,  and now it has become 6 years. "Now this Constitution is 100% valid.   But the question is: does the Constitutional Court described by me  exist today or not? No, we don't have such a Constitutional Court.   According to the Constitution, the election of the head of the  Constitutional Court should be held every six years. That is, the  next election of the head of the Constitutional Court should be held  in 2024. But according to their position, this should be held in  2035. But this is absurd. And then the question arises: how did they  succeed? They wrote in transitional provisions that these changes did not  apply to judges who were elected in the old order. When Serzh  Sargsyan and Hrayr Tovmasyan, sitting, divided the sectors, there was  a clear goal: if Tovmasyan creates an opportunity for Sargsyan to  lead the country for life, then the latter should say:  Hrayr-jan,  you will be headof the Constitutional Court for life, "the head of  government noted.  

To recall, on February 9, Armenian President Armen Sarkissian  scheduled a referendum on constitutional amendments on April 5 this  year. Earlier on February 6, the National Assembly of the Republic of  Armenia adopted a decision on submitting draft amendments to the  Constitution to the referendum. 88 MPs voted for this decision,  against- 15. It is a question of introducing amendments to Article  213 of the Constitution, providing for the dissolution of the  Constitutional Court. The Minister of Territorial Administration and  Infrastructures Suren Papikyan headed the "Yes" campaign, formed by  the Civil Contract party. As for the "No" initiative group, its top  ten included Ruben Melikyan, Gohar Meloyan, Arsen Babayan, Elinar  Vardanyan, Tigran Atanesyan, Astghik Matevosyan, Artak Asatryan,  Siranush Sahakyan, Anahit Sargsyan, Arsen Mkrtchyan.