April 23, 2003 - 22:48 AMT
REFERENDUM ON VOTE OF CONFIDENCE TO ARMENIAN PRESIDENT TO CREATE ADDITIONAL TENSION, KOCHARIAN CONSIDERS
The referendum on vote of confidence to the Armenian president will create additional tension in the country. Armenian president Robert Kocharian said at a meeting with students of Yerevan higher education institutions. In his words, courts, including the Constitutional one, are called to dot controversial issues, and not to give cause for additional questions. R. Kocharian noted Constitutional Court members could have expressed their opinion on the issue in the written form and send it to the presidential administration or the parliament, not including it in their verdict. "Election is in a sense division of the population into two parts - for and against, after that some tension is always created, which is over only after some time has passed," - R. Kocharian stated. Let us remind that April 16 the Constitutional Court of Armenia declined the suit of ex-candidate for the president, leader of People Party of Armenia Stepan Demirchian to recognize the returns of the passed presidential election void. At the same time a proposal to hold a referendum within a year to express vote of credit to the president was included in the verdict.