Initiative Group for 'NO' Campaign Formed

Ruben Melikyan, co-founder of the NGO 'Legal Path', former Deputy Minister of Justice, and former Human Rights Defender of Artsakh, has announced on his Facebook page:

“Dear compatriots, you are already aware that a group of lawyers has initiated public defense for the 'NO' campaign regarding the constitutional amendments referendum scheduled for April 5. We have repeatedly stated that the referendum initiated by the political authorities is unconstitutional in both substantive and procedural terms. Unfortunately, the referendum has been scheduled, and is now becoming a 'de facto' reality.

Thus, beyond the already seriously disputed constitutionality and legality, an objective issue regarding the fairness of the scheduled referendum also arises. As we have already announced, the main objectives of our initiative are:

1. To provide citizens of Armenia with equal access to arguments supporting both 'Yes' and alternatives excluding 'Yes'.
2. To give citizens of Armenia and the international community confidence that the voting results are verifiable and contestable.

We are confident that our initiative is aimed at the benefit of the Republic of Armenia. We will do everything possible to prevent sharp confrontations between the 'YES' and 'NO' factions in the public sphere. We will make efforts to exclude the toxic phenomena of dividing the public into factions and inciting hatred during this time.

We understand that we can become targets of criticism from both the authorities and the opposition; however, the interest of the state is more important to us than any sharp criticisms that may arise, which are artificial and temporary in nature.

Thus, we announce that an initiative group consisting of 61 lawyers has been formed, and on February 18 at 9:00 AM, we will submit the necessary documents to the Central Electoral Commission of Armenia.

P.S. It is noteworthy that our initiative has been joined by 61 lawyers. It should be noted that Article 61 of the Constitution of Armenia guarantees the fundamental rights to appeal to courts for legal protection and to international bodies for the protection of human rights.

‘INITIATIVE GROUP’