Polls close in Armenia referendum on constitutional amendmentsDecember 6, 2015 - 20:11 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Referendum on amendments to Armenia's Constitution ended Saturday, December 6, at 8 pm sharp. According to the latest reports, violations across Yerevan and the provinces were registered during the referendum, with the police launching an investigation into double voting cases, as well as attempts of hindering the work of journalists. 1997 polling stations opened across the republic at 8 am local time with 2 550 323 voters set to cast ballots. 18 local and 6 international organizations monitored the referendum, including CIS observer mission, CIS Interparliamentary Assembly, foreign Central Election Committees, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODHIR), representatives of foreign embassies accredited to Armenia. The amended version of the Constitution would increase the role of the National Assembly, government and Prime Minister and essentially curtail the president's powers. Other changes include elimination of majoritarian voting system and full transition to proportional system of forming a parliament. The most controversial is the provision envisaging compulsory formation of majority of one of political parties in parliamentary elections and holding a second round in case no majority is formed. Represented in the National Assembly, Heritage, Rule of Law and Armenian National Congress parties are against the amendments, while the ruling Republican, as well as Armenian Revolutionary and Prosperous Armenia parties are in favor of changes. Some political powers, including MP Nikol Pashinyan's Civil Agreement, have declared their intention to not participate in the discussions and reforms. Top stories Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan took to social media to thank his Lithuanian counterpart for the contribution. President of the Armenian parliament Alen Simonyan met with the Speaker of the Azerbaijani Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova. Achieving stable peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan remains a priority of the OSCE, said Ian Borg. The Cabinet of Ministers decided on Thursday, November 9 to allocated AMD 120 million to arrange the gathering. Partner news | Concept to complete Yerevan Cascade discussed at city hall A conceptual proposal to complete the Cascade complex in downtown Yerevan has been presented by Jean-Michel Wilmotte. Pashinyan visits flood-hit region Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Saturday, June 8 visited the disaster area in the Lori province. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State to travel to Armenia Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs James C. O’Brien will travel to Yerevan on June 10-12. Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life, Strong Mind IDBank and Idram summarize the results of the May program of “The Power of One Dram”. |