YEREVAN, December 11 (Itar-Tass) — Constitutional amendments, approved at the November 27 referendum, entered into force in Armenia.
Now national laws will be adapted to the new edition of the constitution, which was approved in July 1995, a source in the Central Referenda Commission told Itar-Tass on Sunday.
No statements challenging the referendum results have been made in seven days after their publishing, Deputy Chairman of the Armenian Constitutional Court Volodi Oganesyan said. Therefore, the amendments entered into force, he added.
About 1.5 million voters took part in the referendum, and 93.3% of them supported the constitutional reform. The opposition said that flagrant violations happened during the ballot, and no more than 16.3% of voters took part in it.
The constitutional amendments result from the Armenian commitments to the Council of Europe. They are aimed to balance powers of executive and legislative authorities.
The draft constitutional reform makes drastic changes in the rules of the parliament dismissal and the formation of the government. For instance, the president loses the right to dismiss the parliament as he wishes. He will have to discuss a candidate for the prime minister with parliament factions. Reforms concerning the Justice Council are also important. The amendments clearly define guarantees for the human rights ombudsman. The ban on double citizenship is lifted, which has been long awaited by nearly 5 million members of the Armenian community abroad.
Constitutional amendments had already been put on referendum simultaneously with the parliament elections on May 25, 2003, yet they did not gain support of voters.
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