When will the referendum on the constitutional amendments take place?

The referendum on constitutional amendments cannot be held under a declared state of emergency. This was stated by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in response to a question from MP Aryusak Julhakyan during a session of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia.

“According to the legislation of the Republic of Armenia, a referendum cannot take place under a state of emergency. The referendum will take place no sooner than 50 days and no later than 65 days after the state of emergency ends. The referendum process will start from the point where it was left off,” said Pashinyan.

The constitutional amendments propose to suspend the tenure of the President of the Constitutional Court, Hrayr Tovmasyan, and 6 members of the court. The referendum on the constitutional amendments was supposed to take place on April 5. The pre-election campaign for the referendum began on February 17.

The government of Armenia decided to declare a state of emergency due to the spread of the new type of coronavirus worldwide and in Armenia, which was classified as a pandemic by the World Health Organization. “A state of emergency is declared throughout the territory of the Republic of Armenia from March 16, 2020, at 18:30 until April 14, 2020, at 17:00,” the draft government decision states.

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Armenia has reached 30, and more than 300 people have been isolated. The first confirmed case of coronavirus in Armenia was recorded on March 1 when a citizen returned from Iran. He has already recovered and was discharged.