17:45, 18 December 2015

ANC fails to collect 27 signatures to address the Armenia's CC

At the polling station at the referendum. December 2015. Photo www.panarminian.net

The Armenian National Congress (ANC), which has initiated collection of signatures under the appeal to the Constitutional Court (CC) of Armenia challenging the outcomes of the referendum, managed to collect only 19 instead of required 27 MPs' signatures. However, the oppositionists announced a new justification for going to the CC.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the Central Election Committee (CEC) had rejected the ANC's complaint on invalidating the outcome of the referendum on constitutional reform; then the opposition began collecting MPs' signatures under the appeal to the CC.

According to the draft constitutional reforms in Armenia, the country should make a transition to the parliamentary system of governance, at which the president would be elected by the Parliament for seven years without the right to re-election. The voting at the referendum took place on December 6. According to the CEC, 63.37% of the voters supported of reforms.

Aram Manukyan, the Secretary of the ANC, said that "the ANC had found an alternative legal solution to address the CC." As he said, the alternative version of the appeal will take into account all the 19 collected signatures.

Let us remind you that during the vote on the draft constitutional reforms oppositionists and some NGOs pointed to violations at the polling stations, and after the event they announced falsification of the outcome.

Earlier, it was reported that should the outcomes of the referendum not be challenged, the reforms will enter into force on December 22.

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

Author: Armine Martirosyan

Source: CK correspondent