Some political forces of Armenia do not take a serious view of the constitutional reforms. Nor do they want to attend the debates on the published 7 chapters of the draft Constitution, Hovhannes Sahakyan, Head of the Armenian Parliamentary Commission on State and Legal Affairs, MP from the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA), said at a press conference in Yerevan on July 20.
He said that he personally disagrees with some provisions and that he will discuss them with the relevant structures. Sahakyan stressed the need for participation in the debates for creating a complete document including all proposals of the public and political forces. "The political forces themselves suggested a transition to the parliamentary regime and to a 100% proportional electoral system. Now all these items are included in the draft document, but the same forces come out against the document," he said.
The MP stressed that many vague provisions of the draft Constitution related to formation of the Parliament will be regulated by amendments to the Election Code. "We have held a survey in Lori region and it has become clear that the citizens want to see the complete document to express their opinion about that," he said.
To note, the main novelty in the Constitution is the transition to a 100% proportional electoral system. The name of the candidate proposed by a party for the Prime Minister's position will be mentioned on the proportional list. The parliamentary majority will form the Government. The draft Constitution will undergo public debates by late July. It may even undergo some changes in case acceptable proposals are made. Afterwards the document will be submitted for the consideration of the President and, if approved, it will be submitted to the National Assembly of Armenia. The referendum day will be fixed after the Parliament adopts the draft Constitution.