V. Baghdasaryan: Parliament’s decision to hold referendum sent to Armenian president
Under the Law on the Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly, the decision taken by the National Assembly yesterday on consent for the draft constitutional amendments to be put to a referendum has already been sent by Speaker of the Armenian parliament Galust Sahakyan to Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, the head of parliamentary faction of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) Vahram Baghdasaryan told Panorama.am.
‘Within the next few days the head of state will sign a decree on holding a referendum. Then representatives of political forces and civil society will get down to work,” the MP said.
As was reported, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan on August 21 sent the draft constitutional amendments to the National Assembly of Armenia. The draft was prepared by the Specialized Commission on Constitutional Reforms adjunct to Armenian President. On September 11 the draft amendments received a positive opinion of the parliament’s standing committee on state and legal affairs, which was followed by the draft’s debates at the autumn session of NA. On October 5 the Armenian parliament adopted the draft decision of NA about its consent to put the document to a referendum. The parliament adopted the draft decision by a majority of the votes: 104 MPs voted in favor, 10 against, with 3 abstentions. The draft was backed by the factions of Republican Party of Armenia (RPA), opposition ARF-Dashnaktsutyun, and Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP). Opposition factions ‘Heritage’ and ‘Armenian National Congress’ (ANC), and 2 MPs of the opposition faction ‘Orinats Yerkir’ voted against.