08:20, 11 February 2017

118 observers registered for NKR’s referendum

Voting at the polling station in the town of Martuni in Nagorno-Karabakh. 2015. Photo by Alvard Grigoryan for the "Caucasian Knot"

The number of citizens of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR), included in the voter lists for the referendum on the new Constitution draft, has exceeded 102,000, but it is not final, said the Central Election Commission (CEC). The opinions of NKR residents, interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" on the referendum diverged: some consider the amendments to the Constitution untimely and suspicious, others treat them as necessary.

The discussion of the draft of the new NKR Constitution began in March 2016; the referendum is scheduled for February 20.

Srbuhi Arzumanyan, the Chair of the NKR’s CEC, said that they received no complaints about violations during the election campaign.

The opposition is against the strengthening of the presidential power; while the parties of the parliamentary majority have rejected the idea of the parliamentary rule after the escalation of the Karabakh conflict last April.

Laura Grigoryan, an employee of a state institution, believes that the changes in the Constitution are a need to ensure the NKR’s security.

The referendum on the Constitution is a very important state event, which should be attended, said Vilen Sargsyan, 50, a former teacher.

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

Author: Alvard Grigoryan

Source: CK correspondent