Constitutional reforms in Armenia lead to one-party rule

The constitutional reforms offered by the Commission for Constitutional Reforms in Armenia will create a one-party ruling system, which, in its turn, will contribute to reproduction of power. The absence of partisan competition will hinder democratic development, local experts said at a press conference in Yerevan on July 20.

The Commission for Constitutional Reforms is performing a political order to make a transition to a parliamentary model of governance to ensure a sustainable conservation of power, said Artak Kirakosyan, the Chairman of the Civil Society Institute and Deputy Secretary General of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH).

He noted that the need for constitutional reforms is long overdue in Armenia, but "the concept proposed by the Commission, in fact, is not a reform, but a completely new Constitution."

Kirakosyan is afraid that with this model of governance in the country, the corruption, inherent in the current system, will get still stronger.

Armenian authorities are willing to hold a "constitutional revolution for the approval of a one-party system," Armen Grigoryan, a political scientist and a member of the initiative group "You won't cheat us!", said at the press conference.

According to his version, by acting in this way, the top government wants to retain the possibility of its reproduction; otherwise, there would be no need to create a one-party system.

The political scientist is convinced that constitutional reforms will limit the development of democracy; and the country will get under the authoritarian regime of reigning. He believes that as a result many parties will cease to exist, without being able to participate in the political life of the country.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.