Monday, June 15 2020 21:14

ArmInfo. On June 15, under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, a meeting of a specialized commission on constitutional reforms was held in the government.

During his speech, Pashinyan noted in particular that the specialized  commission on constitutional reforms, although it was formed by the  decision of the prime minister, however, it consists of very few  people who have a political relationship with him or his political  team. According to him, it is the Constitution itself that should  become the guarantor of constitutional changes, which will make it  possible to have a Constitution that is not related to serving a  specific politician or a specific political team. The Prime Minister  noted that a specialized commission should begin the process of  public discussion as soon as possible, ensuring discussion and  exchange of views between the parties. <Of course, it is very  important here that the positions of the government or the political  majority cannot but have a concrete and direct influence, since the  government and the political majority have received a certain mandate  and authority from the people. Once again, I want to state that our  opinion is that we should not make changes in the management system>,  the prime minister said, adding that the Constitution should also  provide more comfortable conditions for foreign investment and  investors.

The head of the Cabinet also touched upon the subject of an  independent judicial system, emphasizing that the functions of the  Constitutional Court, the general judicial system and the Court of  Cassation should be combined into one system. At the same time, as  was noted, this topic should be seriously discussed.  <From now on,  the application of any electoral fraud or any other instrument is  excluded in the process of adopting the Constitution or in any other  electoral process. In the end, the people must make a decision, and  in order for it to serve our primary goal, we must do everything  possible to inform the public about the most substantive debates>,  said Pashinyan.

The Prime Minister also drew attention to the epidemiological  situation in the country in connection with the coronavirus, which  could affect the conduct of voting, including in the framework of  various kinds of elections. In this regard, he pointed out whether it  is possible to ensure the safety and reliability of the online voting  system and the reliability of the results. This issue must also be  considered from the perspective that restrictions on voting due to  coronavirus can become a serious problem of violation of citizens'  rights.

Yeghishe Kirakosyan, chairman of the specialized commission on  constitutional reforms, presented a draft constitutional reform. He  emphasized that detailed discussions had begun on key issues  identified by the Prime Minister. It is expected that by the end of  December 2020, after the stage of public discussions, a concept will  be formed, and the draft constitutional reforms will be ready by June  2021.