Print this page
Tuesday, 12 July 2005
ARMENIAN OPPOSITION BLOC REJECTS PROPOSED DRAFT CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
By empty (7/12/2005 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Following a three-hour discussion on 11 July, representatives of the nine Armenian opposition parties aligned in the Artarutiun bloc said the most recent version of the proposed amendments to the constitution, which were submitted to the Council of Europe\'s Venice Commission last week, do not fully meet the opposition\'s three key demands, RFE/RL\'s Armenian Service reported. Opposition representatives pointed out that under the revised amendments, the president cedes to the parliament the power to sack the prime minister, but remains empowered to dissolve the parliament if legislators twice reject his successive proposed candidate for prime minister. They also noted that the revised amendments provide for the mayor of Yerevan to be elected by the municipal council, whereas the opposition insists that the mayor should be elected by the city\'s population.
Following a three-hour discussion on 11 July, representatives of the nine Armenian opposition parties aligned in the Artarutiun bloc said the most recent version of the proposed amendments to the constitution, which were submitted to the Council of Europe\'s Venice Commission last week, do not fully meet the opposition\'s three key demands, RFE/RL\'s Armenian Service reported. Opposition representatives pointed out that under the revised amendments, the president cedes to the parliament the power to sack the prime minister, but remains empowered to dissolve the parliament if legislators twice reject his successive proposed candidate for prime minister. They also noted that the revised amendments provide for the mayor of Yerevan to be elected by the municipal council, whereas the opposition insists that the mayor should be elected by the city\'s population. (RFE/RL)