Haruityan Clarifies Why He Withdrawn Constitutional Amendments from Circulation

The President of the Republic of Artsakh, Arayik Harutyunyan, has clarified why he made the decision to withdraw the constitutional amendment bill from circulation. As reported by an Armenpress correspondent, Harutyunyan addressed the issue in the Artsakh parliament.

He explained that the amendments were proposed due to political forces expressing concerns that everything was centralized in the hands of one person, the President of the country, and that in order to form a new government, early elections would be necessary, with the only pathway being through constitutional changes.

“I still believe that the amendment I proposed through one article of the Constitution is the best option, but I also consider the internal stability of the country to be more important than the constitutional change. Today, there is fortunately no need for this amendment, as those powers are no longer fully centralized in the President's hands. Of course, it is the President who has empowered the Prime Minister with those authorities, but at least all the concerns that existed previously seem to have been resolved due to the division of functions. Therefore, we have no urgent need to rush the issue of constitutional amendments,” stated President Harutyunyan, noting that the National Assembly had expressed concerns regarding the proposals.

On November 22, President Harutyunyan, based on Article 62, Part 3, Clause 4, and Article 78, Part 6 of the “National Assembly Rules” law, addressed the President of the National Assembly with the aim of returning the draft constitutional amendments of the Republic of Artsakh, thereby removing it from circulation. The decision was prompted by various political interpretations made during the implementation of the initiative for constitutional changes in Artsakh and the negative public responses that emerged regarding the draft, which could potentially lead to further internal division and tension.