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Members of the opposition Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP) are sure of the importance of the constitutional reform initiated by the Armenian authorities because the hanges to the basic law will contribute to the development of Armenia and the institution of human rights protection, Tamar Poghosyan - a member of the opposition faction ‘Prosperous Armenia’ of Yerevan Council of Elders, chief advisor to PAP leader - told a press conference today.

“It took PAP some time to arrive at a decision to support the constitutional reform in Armenia. Heated discussions were held, there was disagreement among members, but a unanimous decision was taken to back the constitutional reform after PAP members familiarized themselves with the final text of the draft amendments to the Constitution of Armenia and learned of all the positive tendencies,” she stressed.

According to T. Poghosyan, the preliminary and final texts of the draft constitutional amendments greatly differ from each other: the final text has been significantly improved through discussions.

The representative of PAP also said: “The problems existing in Armenia are not due to the Constitution currently in force. Besides, not all issues will be resolved after adoption of the draft constitutional amendments as some of the current problems have deep political roots, while others are a consequence of the customs”.

“The primary task of campaign offices of ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ Fronts (editor: supporters and opponents of the reform) is to inform Armenian citizens about their positions on the constitutional reform, and it is up to the people to decide whether or not to believe in the constitutional reform, and whether or not to accept the changes. Whatever decision the people take, we will acknowledge it, without unnecessary assessment of victories and defeats,” she added.

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan on August 21 sent the draft constitutional amendments to the country’s parliament. The draft was developed by the Special Commission on Constitutional Reforms adjunct to Armenian President. Following the debates, the Armenian parliament adopted on October 5 the draft decision of the National Assembly on its consent for the document to be put to a referendum. The decision was passed by a majority of the votes: 104 MPs voted in favor, 10 against, with 3 abstentions. The draft was supported by the factions of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA), and opposition ARF-Dashnaktsutyun (ARFD) and Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP). Opposition factions ‘Heritage’ and ‘Armenian National Congress (ANC), and 2 MPs of opposition faction ‘Orinats Yerkir’ voted against. The Armenian president set December 6, 2015 as the date for the constitutional referendum. The campaign for the constitutional reform in Armenia began on October 10 and will end at midnight of December 4.